


Blank Pages

by Illiad_And_Oddity



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, FF7 and Skyrim are two of my favorites, I do what I want, Multi, so I'm blending them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-17
Updated: 2014-10-25
Packaged: 2017-12-12 02:43:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 30,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/806240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Illiad_And_Oddity/pseuds/Illiad_And_Oddity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Crossing the border into Skyrim when he did was the worst decision Zack Fair ever made... or maybe it was the best.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Unbound

Zack had never intended for this to be the way he would meet his end. He'd always hoped to be a hero, but it looked like he wouldn't even be able to save one person who needed him. Cloud... of all the rotten luck, why'd they have to be crossing the border so gods-damned close to a skirmish in Skyrim's civil war? It didn't matter that he wasn't with the Stormcloaks. Zack was a soldier, and looked like one, and had been carrying his sword – he could still see it on one of the other wagons. Empire probably wouldn't give it back to him, even if he could convince them he was innocent.

 

"You there. What's your name?" the soldier with the list asked.

 

"Zack Fair," Zack said, "And my friend is Cloud Strife. He's sick, so he won't be able to answer for himself."

 

He glanced over at Cloud, who was doing well today. He was at least able to stand on his own, though his eyes were still staring blindly at the day. He looked happy, in a blank and dazed sort of way. Whatever visions his fractured mind was showing him must have been pleasant for once. Good. Zack rather wished he was in Cloud's mind right now too, instead of out here.

 

"Captain, they're not on the list," the soldier said quietly to the officer standing next to him, "What should we do?"

 

"It doesn't matter," the captain barked harshly, "Send them to the block, too! We want this damned conflict over with!"

 

The soldier looked back at him sadly, "I'm sorry about this. I'll see that your remains are returned to your families."

 

"Please," Zack begged, "Just let Cloud go. Can't you see he's sick? Does he _look_ like he could possibly be with the Stormcloaks?"

 

It was ironic, Zack thought, that he was making that argument when from what he knew, Cloud would have been more likely than most to be with the Stormcloaks. He'd been born and raised in Skyrim, and was a devout worshiper of Talos. He saw Ulfric Stormcloak as a great hero. And, with those bouts of inhuman strength he showed sometimes when the fog in his mind cleared, he would have been formidable in Ulfric's army. But he didn't look it. He was young and small and delicate, the kind of boy who seemed to awaken any woman's motherly side. Maybe even this harsh captain would be moved by him.

 

"Captain..."

 

"Enough, Hadvar. I gave an order!"

 

Zack was marched towards the block, and saw Cloud following with a vague look. _Talos be with you, Cloud_ , Zack thought. At least if he had to die, he wouldn't have to know it was happening...

 

He barely paid attention as the priestess began their last rites. He had just wanted to take Cloud to the temple of Kynareth. Their healers were supposed to be unrivaled throughout the empire. Surely if anyone could help Cloud recover from what that damned mage had done to him, it would be them.

 

A Stormcloak walked up to the block, and knelt down, with enough time to snap one last insult at their captors before the headman's axe came down on him. Cloud flinched.

 

No, no, no... This was the worst possible time for Cloud to wake up. Let him live out his final few minutes in a pleasant daze. The soldier who had promised to return his remains to his family nudged him gently.

 

"You next," he said softly. Zack didn't exactly feel charitable towards the Imperials at the moment, but he did feel a bit of pity for the man, having to follow orders clearly didn't want to follow...

 

Zack walked slowly to the block and let himself be pushed to his knees. He turned his head to look back at Cloud and tried not to cry. He hoped... he hoped that they would go to the same place after death. Cloud's eyes seemed to clear as he watched.

 

"Zack!" Cloud yelled, his voice slurred.

 

Suddenly, the other prisoners were looking up. "What is that?" one of them yelled.

 

Several things happened all at once. Cloud came running forward with a feral scream, and slammed into the executioner with all his strength – which Zack knew was a surprising amount for such a little body. The executioner fell to the ground, and the ground shook with the force – he couldn't possibly be _that_ big of a man. Then other people were yelling and screaming, and the air was filled with fire.

 

Zack struggled to his feet, "Cloud!" he called, his vision blurring from the sudden heat and smoke.

 

"You there!" someone yelled, one of the Stormcloaks who had been on the cart with him, "Both of you, hurry! The gods won't give us a second chance."

 

Zack located Cloud, who seemed confused, but blessedly alert, "Come on!" 

 

Cloud followed him, and he followed the Stormcloak, as something overhead roared and more fire filled his vision. They made it to a tower, and the Stormcloak slammed the door shut behind them.

 

"Gods help us," a Stormcloak woman was saying "A dragon! A real, live dragon!"

 

"Zack," Cloud said quietly, pressing into his back, "Zack, what's going on?"

 

"Mother Mara bless," Zack said, "I don't know if you picked the best or worst time to come out of your daze, Cloud."

 

"We need to move," said another voice, deep and commanding. Zack looked to see Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak himself moving towards the stairs, "These towers aren't built to withstand something as big as a dragon attacking them..."

 

Was there really a dragon? Zack hadn't gotten a look in all the confusion.

 

"Zack... who's that?" Cloud asked.

 

"Not important right now, Cloudy," Zack said, "We just need to -"

 

He was cut off by the side of the tower suddenly breaking open. The dragon – oh gods, it really _was_ a dragon, stuck its head inside and blew another great bout of flame. One man was unlucky enough to be standing in the line of fire and fell instantly. Luckily for the rest of them, though, the dragon didn't flame again, but left to attack some other part of the village.

 

"Up this way," the Stormcloak they had followed in said.

 

Zack obeyed, and looked through the hole. There was a building close to the hole, with a huge chunk of its roof gone.

 

"Just jump through the inn roof and keep going," he ordered, "Make for the keep as fast as you can!"

 

Zack nodded. He could make that jump, even with his hands tied, "Cloud, you first. Hurry!" He didn't know when Cloud would fall back into his stupor, and so needed to keep him moving as fast as he could.

 

Cloud jumped and landed with barely a stumble – hey, when had he gotten his hands untied? Oh well, not like it mattered. Zack jumped after him and landed slightly less gracefully, but fortunately without hurting himself. They made it down to the ground floor and out into the chaotic inferno once more. The keep, get to the keep... where the hell was the keep? How was he supposed to find it in this mess?

 

He found a clear path through the smoke and followed it, hoping he'd be able to find the keep, or, failing that, a serviceable basement. Cloud grabbed his elbow, which was a relief – at least they wouldn't be separated.

 

"It's going to be okay, Cloud," Zack reassured him, hoping it wasn't an empty promise, "Stick with me, okay?"

 

After a moment, he found a few of the Imperial soldiers. Most of them had bows and were firing at the dragon – oh, like that was going to do any good – and one was carrying a small boy. He handed the boy to an older man and turned to see them.

 

"Still alive?" he asked, and Zack recognized him as the soldier from before who wanted to spare them, "Stay close to me and maybe I can keep you that way."

 

Yeah, and maybe he'd put him back on the chopping block as soon as they'd gotten away from the dragon. But then again, better to stick with someone who was armed and had some idea where he was then try to get away on his own. Zack nodded and followed the soldier, Cloud still clinging tightly to his elbow.

 

It was hard to figure out what was going on. The dragon was still swooping around, roaring and breathing fire, filling the air with heat and smoke so that Zack could barely see. He stumbled a few times, but as long as he kept following the soldier and could still feel Cloud's hand gripping his sleeve, he would be okay.

 

"Ralof, you damned traitor!" the soldier yelled at one of the Stormcloaks.

 

"We're leaving Hadvar, and you're not going to stop us!" the Stormcloak yelled back.

 

“Fine!” the soldier, Hadvar, yelled, “I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovngarde!” He drew his bow and took aim at the dragon once more.

 

"Don't waste your arrows, idiot!" Zack yelled, bumping into the soldier, "We've got to run!"

 

Suddenly, Zack realized that Cloud was no longer hanging on to him. He looked around frantically for his small companion, and sighted him close to the wall of the keep, near one of the overturned carts. How in the world had he gotten over there so fast?

 

"Cloud!" he screamed, letting panic take him for the first time, "Cloud!"

 

The soldier grabbed him by his still-bound hands and pulled him towards a door to the keep. Hadvar opened the door and pushed Zack inside. Zack stumbled and fell to the hard stone floor. He could still hear the dragon roaring outside, and heard a crash as something collapsed right by the door.

 

Hadvar cursed loudly, and tested the door, "It's blocked."

 

Zack turned to him with a glare, "Damn you! Why didn't you let me get Cloud?!”

 

"I was going to get you safely inside and then go back for him," Hadvar said, "I thought at least I could be certain of saving one innocent life."

 

"You should have saved _him_ then!" Zack bellowed, "Cloud... oh gods, Cloud..."

 

Cloud was innocent. Innocent in a way Zack couldn't even remember being. Four years Zack had been caring for him, most of it as captives of that madman, and despite everything Cloud had endured he had somehow never lost that innocence...

 

"There's still hope for your friend," Hadvar said, approaching Zack cautiously. He seemed aware that Zack was furious enough to be dangerous even with bound hands. "He was close to the other door of the keep. With luck, he had the sense to get inside."

 

Was that the truth, or just a pretty lie to give him hope? Zack wasn't sure.

 

"Let me get those bindings off..." Hadvar said gently, like he was speaking to a spooked horse. Zack let him remove the bindings and rubbed his wrists gratefully. Those things _hurt._

 

“There's some equipment in that chest. You should probably grab it. It's not like the captain needs it anymore.”

 

Zack smiled slightly, finding some vindictive pleasure in the thought of the captain who had tried to have him and Cloud killed dead. He hoped the dragon had eaten her. He hoped it had hurt.

 

Sure enough, there was a full set of armor in the chest, but it was fitted for a woman. Zack would only really be able to make use of the bracers and boots (apparently the captain had big feet), but it was something. There was a shield and shortsword by the bed, so he grabbed those as well and put the armor on very quickly. He could still hear the dragon outside, and what sounded like screams, so there was still a chance Cloud was alive if he hurried.

 

“Now, where's the other door?” he demanded, drawing the sword.

 

“This way,” Hadvar said, leading the way out of the barracks and down a hall.

 

Zack followed behind, keeping his sword drawn. Fortunately Hadvar seemed to understand his urgency and ran instead of walking, and then came to an abrupt halt and drew his sword. Stormcloaks. Two of them. Upon seeing him, the one in front drew his sword, and Zack wanted to scream at them for caring more about their stupid fight when there was a dragon outside and Cloud -

 

And Cloud was the second Stormcloak, following behind the one who had drawn his weapon.

 

“Cloud!” he yelled, dropping his sword and running right past the startled Stormcloak to hug his friend tightly. Cloud let out a grunt at the treatment, but Zack didn't care. “Oh, thank the Divines, Cloud!”

 

“Zack. I got your sword,” Cloud said, lifting up the handle of Zack's blade.

 

“You -” Zack gaped at him, “There was a dragon attacking, and you _went to get my sword?_ ”

 

“It's important, right?” Cloud said.

 

“Not nearly as important as you! I nearly had a heart attack when I realized you weren't with me! You -” Zack let out an exasperated noise, “Cloud, I'm not sure whether I should clobber you or kiss you right now.”

 

Cloud buried his face in Zack's chest, “It was important.”

 

There was another loud roar from outside and the building shook. Zack decided there were better times and places to lecture Cloud on the meaning of self-preservation – and wouldn't Angeal have been shocked to hear _Zack_ giving someone that lecture.

 

Hadvar and the Stormcloak had ceased fighting, apparently more interested in Zack and Cloud's reunion than fighting.

 

“We need to get out of here,” Zack said, “Hadvar, is there another exit? Most forts have a secret exit, right?”

 

Hadvar eyed the Stormcloak nervously. Zack let out a growl that caused them both to jump. He'd gained the knack of that sometime during his captivity under Hojo. It had been useful for intimidating his assistants and keeping them away from Cloud. Too bad it had never worked on the mage himself.

 

“Right now, the dragon is a bigger problem than the civil war,” he said, “So for Mara's sake, can we just get out of here?” He grabbed his sword from Cloud and saw all of their eyes widen when he held it in one hand. He'd need two hands to swing it properly, but soldiers respected strength, and he was fine with bluffing a bit if it made them listen to him.

 

“This way,” Hadvar said, pointing them towards a set of stairs.

 

“Grab that sword, Cloud,” Zack ordered, pointing towards the shortsword he'd dropped.

 

Cloud did as he was told, moving with purpose. Zack was amazed. This was the longest Cloud had been coherent since they'd escaped the ruin where Hojo and his underlings had holed up. Cloud had had a little bit of skill with a sword beforehand, but Zack didn't know how much good it would do him. He still seemed fairly addled. Zack grabbed his arm and put the shield on him.

 

“Here, use this too,” he said. He tightened up the buckles. “If we end up running into any fighting, you stay towards the back, okay?”

 

“I can fight, Zack,” Cloud said firmly. Zack was happy to see intelligent light back in his eyes, but this wasn't a good time for Cloud's stubborn streak to rear its head.

 

“You've been sick for a long time, Cloud,” Zack said. He reached out and ruffled Cloud's hair. “Just humor me on this and let me take care of you, okay? The last thing I want is for you to go blank again in the middle of a den of skeevers.”

 

Cloud relaxed a bit, looking thoughtful. He nodded, “Alright.”

 

“You just stick close to me, Cloud,” Zack said, and drew Cloud into a one-armed hug, “It's going to be okay.”

 

The fort rumbled again, and Zack jumped. “But we should probably get moving. Lead the way, Hadvar.”

 

Hadvar led the way down, through a couple of supply rooms. Zack found a few potions and a set of armor that was too small for him again, but fit Cloud well enough. It would do until they got to a blacksmith at least. He could probably trade it for some armor that fit properly. And probably lighter, too. Cloud was very agile, heavy armor would impede him.

 

Zack thought for a few seconds that Hadvar and Ralof would come to blows over the torture room, but managed to stop it with nothing more than a hand on his sword hilt and a menacing look. Cloud ignored the brewing argument, and retrieved a small coin purse from within one of the cells.

 

"Only twelve Septims," he said sadly as he counted them out. He handed the purse to Zack, "We'll need a lot more."

 

"That's okay, Cloud," Zack reassured him. He'd had a few hundred when he'd been captured – it was probably lining the pockets of some dead soldier now, but there was always money to be made killing monsters or hunting down criminals with bounties, and he was good at that.

 

The fort soon gave way to a rough, rocky tunnel with a stream flowing through it. Zack smiled at the cleverness of it. Fresh water in case of a siege, and the naturally forming cave would also provide a route for a messenger to get out of if necessary.

 

"What exactly is wrong with your friend?" Ralof asked softly, looking at Cloud as he climbed up the rocky embankment. "It looked like he wasn't even able to talk on the cart."

 

Zack shook his head, "It comes and goes. A mage decided to experiment on both of us, and Cloud... he retreated into his own mind. This is the longest he's been... awake in a year."

 

“A year?” Hadvar echoed, “What did he do to you?”

 

“I don't know,” Zack said honestly. He hurried to steady Cloud as he slipped on some loose shale.

 

"'M fine, Zack..." Cloud protested, but Zack could see he was lying. His eyes were starting to look dull again, and he had slurred his words.

 

"Come on, Cloud, stay with me," Zack said. "We're free. Hojo's not here to hurt us. And as soon as we're out of this cave, we're going to find a good healer for you."

 

But it seemed like it was too late. The light of intelligence was once again fading from Cloud's eyes, and his movements were rough, as though he had been drugged. Zack cursed.

 

"Hadvar, Ralof," he called, "I'm going to need you two to take the lead again." He hitched Cloud's arm up over his shoulder and pulled him upright, mostly leaning on Zack.

 

"I've got you, Cloud. I've already carried you this far, I can keep it up for as long as you need me."

 

Cloud only grunted. Zack hoped it was an acknowledgment.

 

~~~

 

They finally escaped from the cave a few hours later, with no new injuries to show for it. They had run into a few giant spiders, and successfully snuck past a bear – gods alone knew how they had managed that, with four armored men, one nearly unconscious and being dragged. Maybe the bear was blind and deaf.

 

"Look, Cloud," Zack said, gently tilting Cloud's head up towards the sky.

 

Cloud seemed to smile a bit at the sight of all of the stars. Zack smiled as well. At least he was aware enough to still remember how much he loved the stars.

 

"We're free," he murmured. He stroked Cloud's hair gently, "We're going to be alright."

 

"If the Empire doesn't try to put you two back on the block again," Ralof grumbled.

 

"Give it a rest, will you?" Hadvar snapped. He looked at Zack apologetically, "That's not going to happen. You being there at all was nothing but bad luck. You should have been released, but the Captain -"

 

Zack shrugged, "Wanted it over with. Yeah, I got that. I don't care about your war at all, and I'm not going to get involved if you'll leave us alone. I just want to make sure Cloud is taken care of."

 

"It's a shame you don't want to get involved," Ralof said. "The Stormcloaks could always use a loyal, honorable man like you."

 

"So could the empire," said Hadvar.

 

"Shut it, both of you," Zack said. He was getting very sick of these two arguing with each other. It felt like he was listening to a pair of squabbling children.

 

"Zack..." Cloud groaned, lifting his head.

 

"Hey, welcome back to the world of the living, Cloud," Zack said brightly, ruffling his hair, "What do you need?"

 

"'M... hungry..."

 

"I have an uncle who lives in Riverwood, just up the road," Hadvar said. "He can give you food and supplies, and a warm bed for the night."

 

"My sister, too," Ralof cut in, apparently not wanting to be outdone in terms of hospitality. "Besides, they'll need to be warned about the dragon."

 

"Food and a bed is all we need for now," Zack said, "Lead the way."

 

~

 

When they arrived in Riverwood, Zack decided to accept Hadvar's invitation to stay at his uncle's house instead of Ralof's. He didn't know either of them, but thought that he'd have some better luck finding what he needed at a blacksmith's forge than at a miller's house.

 

"But thank you for the offer," he said to Ralof, not wanting to seem ungrateful. Both of these men had helped to save his life, and even if their constant arguments irritated him, he was in debt to both of them.

 

"I'll stop in to see Gerdur," he said, "But I'm not going to stay the night, so don't think you can sneak off and find a legion of Imperials to help you arrest me, Hadvar."

 

Hadvar snorted, "If I were going to arrest you, I wouldn't need a legion."

 

Cloud grunted. It was probably just an involuntary noise, but it sounded like he was also annoyed at them.

 

"We escaped a dragon together," Zack said, "Don't you think we should be friends by now? You Nords are big on bonds formed in battle, right?"

 

"Bonds formed by running for your life aren't the same thing as bonds formed in battle," Ralof said, but he was smiling a bit.

 

"I'll let you run a little bit farther, Ralof," Hadvar said. He also seemed to be smiling a bit, "I'm not going back to the legion until I've had a good meal and a good night's sleep. You might be able to outrun me in that time."

 

~~~

 

Alvor was a nice man, who was happy to give Zack and Cloud a hot meal and a place to stay for the night, especially once Hadvar had told him what happened in Helgen. Dinner was some kind of stew that Zack found rather bland, but after the kind of day they had had he would have tucked into a dead elk he found on the side of the road with enthusiasm. Cloud was out of his daze enough to spoon food into his own mouth, which made life a little easier for Zack.

 

"You're welcome to stay here for the night," Alvor said, dishing Cloud up a second bowl, "But someone's going to need to tell Jarl Balgruuf what happened in Helgen. A dragon... by the gods, if it shows up here, we're defenseless."

 

"I need to get Cloud to the Temple of Kynareth before anything else," Zack said, "It might be better for you to tell the Jarl, Hadvar." He reached over and wiped Cloud's chin. "Slow down a bit, Cloud. Food does you more good inside your mouth."

 

"The Temple of Kynareth is in Whiterun," Alvor said, "Did you not know where it was?"

 

"Well... I knew it was in Skyrim," Zack said. At Alvor and Hadvar's incredulous looks, he added, "Look, I just know that they're supposed to be the best healers in the empire. The one I found in Bruma had no idea how to help Cloud, so I came here."

 

"You're going to need to learn the lay of the land," Hadvar said, shaking his head. "Jarl Balgruuf lives at Dragonsreach, the keep at the top of Whiterun. The Temple of Kynareth is in the same town. You can drop your friend off with the healers, run up to tell the Jarl what happened, and get back to the temple before he'll even know you've been gone."

 

"Oh." Zack said. He grinned, "Finally, something is working out for us."

 

Cloud made a satisfied noise, and put down his spoon.

 

"All done?" Zack asked, and was pleased to see a little light back in Cloud's eyes.

 

"Full," Cloud declared, and yawned loudly.

 

"It's going to be so nice to sleep inside for a change," Zack said, and Cloud nodded.

 

"Warm," he said.

 

Alvor didn't have beds for all of them, but he moved a thick sheepskin rug to the floor by the hearth, and Zack curled up on it, holding Cloud. Cloud seemed happy enough, but he had a tendency to wander in the night and Zack wanted to know if he was going anywhere.

 

"Zack..." Cloud said vaguely, cuddling into Zack's chest.

 

"I've got you, Cloud," he promised.

 

Cloud smiled, and hummed a tune, something he did when he was happy. Zack suspected it was probably a lullaby, but the occasional words Cloud muttered seemed like pure nonsense.

 

" _Diivon fin lein_..." Cloud mumbled.

 

“Whatever you say, kid,” Zack said, holding Cloud close.


	2. Before The Storm

Zack woke the next morning to find Cloud completely unresponsive once again. He was awake, but his eyes didn't follow any movements and he didn't respond when spoken to. It was painful to see, after how much like himself he had been the day before, but Zack had gotten used to Cloud in this state. He managed to get a small bit of porridge into Cloud's mouth for breakfast, and Alvor's wife helped him dress Cloud in some fresh clothes. She then handed him a small coinpurse, a dagger, and some old but still serviceable leather armor.

 

"From my old adventuring days," she said, "It's lucky for your friend that I've always been built like a boy."

 

"I really can't thank you enough for all of this," Zack said.

 

"We'd never leave a good man in need," she said, "If you want to repay us, come back sometime and buy equipment from Alvor. He makes good steel."

 

"I will. Thank you again."

 

There was no chance Cloud was going to be able to walk in this state, so Zack decided to put his sword on Cloud's back, and carry Cloud on his own. They'd be in a bit of trouble if they got attacked along the path, but it was clearly well-traveled and the only thing he saw while carrying his unconscious companion was a pair of wolves off in the distance.

 

The road was easy enough, even carrying Cloud, and he reached the gates of the city in the early afternoon. There was a single guard in front of them, female, though it was hard to tell under the bulky armor and the face-concealing helmet.

 

"Halt!" she said, sounding a bit worried. "I'm sorry, traveler, but you'll have to turn back the way you came."

 

Zack stopped and looked at her, hitching Cloud into a more comfortable position, "Why?"

 

"I'm sorry, but we're not allowing any travelers into the city right now," the guard said firmly, "Jarl's orders."

 

"But I have news for the Jarl. About what happened at Helgen," Zack said, "And my friend is sick and needs a healer, too. You have to let us in."

 

"I'm sorry, but I won't disobey any orders from the Jarl," the guard said, "I'm sure he'll allow the gates to be open to travelers again soon. In the meantime, I'm sure one of the farms around here will put you up."

 

Zack nearly growled in frustration, "I am _not_ leaving. I'll stand right here at this door until you let us in."

 

"Look, this is foolishness," the guard said, her voice rather strained. "Just go find somewhere else to stay, I can't disobey my orders. The Jarl says no outsiders in town right now."

 

Zack opened his mouth to argue once more, but a voice from behind him said, "Tifa Lockheart, for shame!"

 

Zack turned to see a woman approaching with a basket full of flowers. She was obviously an elf, with her slender frame and exotically slanted eyes, but she was rather short, even for a wood-elf, and her eyes were bright green, which Zack didn't think elves normally had.

 

"You're turning away needy travelers at the gate? Just yesterday you were explaining to me how a true Nord never leaves one of their own in trouble. Look!" She pointed to Cloud, still draped over Zack's shoulders, "He can't even walk!"

 

The guard, Tifa apparently, somehow seemed sheepish even with the face-concealing helm, "It's not my decision, Aerith..."

 

"I'll vouch for them," the elf said. She smiled at Zack, "You need to bring him to the temple, right? I'm an acolyte there."

 

"But you don't even know them!" Tifa protested.

 

"So? If I vouch for them and they cause trouble, I'll take the blame for it instead of you."

 

Tifa seemed to ponder this for a moment, then shrugged, "Alright, I suppose I can let you in in that case."

 

“Don't worry," the elf said softly as the guard turned to knock on the gate, "They like me here. No one will bother you if I vouch for you."

 

"Aren't you taking a risk?" Zack asked. "I mean, we could be thieves or murderers for all you know."

 

"I don't think you are," she said with a soft smile. "But if you want, I could revoke my vouch and leave you out to sit all night. I wouldn't want to show you _too_ much kindness, after all. You might start thinking elves aren't all evil Dominionists or something."

 

"Do they think that about you?" Zack asked.

 

"Well, I've been living in Whiterun for forty years, so they knew me before the Great War. So they accept me, but as a rule, Skyrim isn't too fond of elves."

 

The gate opened with a creak, and she waved them through. Zack changed his grip on Cloud and followed her.

 

"And I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound bitter. I really do like Whiterun. The people here are good people. Don't think badly of Tifa, please. She's new to that job and desperately wants to impress her family by doing it well. I'm Aerith, by the way," she said, smiling more widely at him. She really had a very charming smile. "Come on, the temple is up the hill, through the market. Lady Danica and I will take good care of your friend."

 

“Thank you," Zack said, and finally took a look around at Whiterun. There weren't any trees planted inside the walls that Zack could see, and the buildings weren't too close together. They seemed to be made mostly of wood, so the space between them was probably a precaution in case of fire. It would be hard to haul buckets up this hill to put fires out.

 

Especially if the fire had been caused by a dragon... Zack shuddered, and hitched Cloud a little higher on his back. He'd take care of Cloud first, then tell the Jarl.

 

"People are staring at us," he noticed.

 

"You're carrying an unconscious man and a sword nearly as big as he is," Aerith said, "I'd stare, too. The temple is this way, just up the steps past the market."

 

"Thank you again," Zack said. He'd said an awful lot of thank yous today. So many people had been kind and helpful since they'd escaped... he couldn't help bracing himself for something to go wrong.

 

After the market square, there was an old stone staircase, and at the top another square, this one surrounded by houses. A pretty trellis surrounded a huge old tree, which looked sadly dead.

 

"What's the story with the tree?" he asked.

 

"The Gildergreen?" Aerith said, "It used to be a site of pilgrimage for worshipers of Kynareth, but it was struck by lightning a few years ago and never recovered... you should have seen it in bloom. It was beautiful. It was what drew me to Whiterun in the first place."

 

On the other side of the square was a large and elaborate building. It was a little weatherbeaten, like all the buildings in Whiterun, but still very stately.

 

"This is the temple?" Zack said.

 

Aerith nodded, and pushed the door open. "Lady Danica, we have another patient," she called.

 

Inside, one could hardly tell that the building was a temple. The first thing Zack noticed were the beds. About a dozen soldiers, Imperial and Stormcloak, were lying on them. Some were bandaged quite heavily, and Zack could see that one man was missing an arm. A woman in priestess robes was kneeling by the bed of a man with bandages over his eye, her hands filled with the soft gold glow of a healing spell. She looked up at them.

 

Zack eased Cloud off of his back, and Aerith helped him not drop unceremoniously on the floor. The priestess sighed.

 

"Put him on the empty bed, Aerith. Is his ailment urgent?"

 

Zack shook his head, "He's been like this for a year. Another hour or two won't hurt."

 

The priestess's eyes widened, then she looked at Aerith, "Alright, you take care of him until I can do something about Aren's infection. You have as good an instinct as I do."

 

Zack detached his sword from Cloud's back and leaned it against a nearby pillar, then carried Cloud to the one unoccupied bed. He laid Cloud down on it very gently, and stroked his face, "It's going to be fine, Cloud. We're safe here. The healers are the best in the Empire. They'll get you fixed up in no time."

 

"You're very devoted to him," Aerith said, kneeling by Cloud's bedside. She picked up his hand and held his wrist for some reason – Zack knew very little about medicine, only the most basic of healing spell that any idiot could learn.

 

"I'm all he's got in this world right now," Zack said, "I'd never abandon him."

 

Aerith smiled at him, then turned her attention to examining Cloud. It looked like random poking and prodding to Zack, which would probably just upset Cloud if he was aware of it, but her touch was light and quick.

 

"This is the strangest thing I've ever seen," Aerith said, "From what I can tell, he's the model of health, but..."

 

"But he's not responding to anything," Zack finished for her, "He was awake enough to talk and eat yesterday..." And tackle an executioner and run from a dragon, but Zack didn't want to mention that part.

 

Aerith pursed her lips, "Hmm... what exactly put him in this state in the first place?”

 

Zack took a deep breath. He didn't really want to talk about it at all, but... she probably did need to know in order to help Cloud. He'd always thought that Cloud's illness was him retreating into his own mind to hide from the world, but for him to go back to this corpse-like stillness after he'd been pretty much himself yesterday made him think that maybe there was more to it than that.

 

"Mara... where do I even start?" Zack asked. "Alright, to make it quick as possible, Cloud and I were used as a mage's experiments. We were his prisoners for nearly four years."

 

Aerith's jaw dropped a little, "Four years?! What was he doing to you?"

 

"Gods, what _didn't_ he do to us?" Zack muttered, "I don't even know half of what he did. But whatever it was, it hurt. A lot. About two years in, Cloud would start to just... well, check out whenever he was hauled out for experiments. He'd go totally blank just like that. I always figured he was hiding in his mind to escape the pain. After a while, he started to do it even when he wasn't being experimented on, and eventually, he was like that all the time. Hojo liked it, he didn't fight."

 

"Hojo?" Aerith asked.

 

"That's the name of the mage who did all of that to him. You've heard of him?"

 

"I'm not sure," she said quickly. Zack was fairly certain she was lying, but he didn't know why. 

 

"I killed that bastard when we escaped," Zack said, "I wanted to torture him like he deserved, but I needed to get Cloud out. I thought for certain he'd wake up once he realized the experiments had stopped. He did a little bit, but..."

 

Aerith nodded in understanding, "He keeps retreating. I've seen it happen before. Some of the soldiers I treat are a little bit like that. Their memories of things that have happened are so vivid that they overpower the real world."

 

"But we're safe now," Zack said, sitting down heavily on the side of the bed and stroking Cloud's hair out of his face. "We're safe now. We escaped from Hojo nearly a year ago, and he still keeps going back to this. After yesterday, I thought for sure he would wake up..."

 

Aerith covered his hand with her own. Her touch was very gentle, like she was soothing a spooked horse. "He will. It may take time, but he _will_ wake up."

 

She sounded utterly certain. Zack found it reassuring.

 

"And until he wakes, we will care for him. We never turn anyone away."

 

Zack nodded, "There's not a lot you can do for him, though, is there?"

 

"I have a few ideas for things to speed up the process," she said, "but it ultimately comes down to him."

 

"He's strong," Zack said firmly, "And he's a survivor. He'll wake up soon."

 

~~

 

It was very hard for Zack to pull himself away from Cloud's bedside, even just to climb the stairs near the temple up to the castle. Aerith assured him that she would watch over Cloud, and that if he woke up she would tell him where Zack had gone. 

 

Even the castle was made of wood, Zack noticed as he approached the doors. This whole town would be a tinderbox if that dragon came around here. He really hoped it wouldn't. He pushed the door open and walked inside.

 

The main hall was huge, easily as big as any stone castle he had ever been in. At the end of the hall was a man he assumed was the jarl. The throne, at least seemed like a good indication. He was deep in conversation with another man, so Zack walked up close enough to the chair that he would be noticed when they finished arguing.

 

Suddenly he found himself staring at the point of a sword being held by a fierce-looking dark elf.

 

"What is your business, approaching Jarl Balgruuf?" she demanded.

 

Zack held up his hands and tried to look as harmless as he could, "I have news about what happened at Helgen. When the dragon attacked."

 

“Well, that would explain why the guards let you in. Against the Jarl's direct orders, no less.” She eyed him suspiciously.

 

“She didn't want to,” Zack said, remembering that Aerith had said the woman at the gate was new at her job and wanted to impress her family. He'd feel awful if she got punished on account of him. “I was arguing with her for a while and then Aerith came up and said she'd vouch for me, because I had a sick friend who needed healing.”

 

The dark elf sighed, relaxing a bit, “Yes. That _is_ something Aerith would do. You may approach the Jarl, but try anything and I'll put you down.”

 

“Yes, ma'am,” Zack said, fighting the urge to salute. He walked up to the man on the throne.

 

“He has news of what happened in Helgen,” the dark elf said, “Apparently, there really was a dragon.”

 

The Jarl looked at him, seeming a bit concerned, “So it's true, then? You were actually there? You saw the beast with your own eyes?”

 

Zack nodded, “Yes. I only got one good look at it, but it was definitely a dragon. It was the size of a small building, including the wings.”

 

“Tell me the whole story,” the Jarl ordered, “Please, start at the beginning.”

 

“Well, the legion had captured Ulfric Stormcloak, and was about to execute him,” Zack said. He decided to leave out the part where they'd been about to execute him, too. That was more complicated than he wanted to go into, so he would just tell it like he and Cloud had been observers. “I was in Helgen with my friend Cloud – he's down at the Temple of Kynareth right now.”

 

“Was your friend injured in the attack?” 

 

“No. He's been sick for a long time. I was bringing him to the Temple, because I'd heard that their healers are the best in Tamriel. It's why we came to Skyrim at all.”

 

The Jarl smiled proudly, “They are. Lady Danica and Aerith once managed to reattach a warrior's leg. He walks with a cane now, but he has both his legs.”

 

“Really?” Zack was impressed. Reattaching a severed body part was all but impossible. If they could do that, surely they could help Cloud back to reality.

 

“Really. But that's a story for another time. Please, continue.”

 

Zack continued, “We were passing through Helgen on the way to Whiterun. I didn't actually see the dragon land – I was paying attention to Cloud – but I felt the ground shake when it landed. Then it started breathing fire, and everyone was screaming... Cloud and I made it to one of the towers, and at that point, I still had no idea what was going on. Someone was yelling about a dragon, and I found out she was right when it broke through the tower wall and breathed fire at us... We got out of the tower and ran for the Keep. Ended up in there with both an Imperial soldier and a Stormcloak, and they called a temporary truce while we were running from the dragon.

 

“We were able to escape through a tunnel under the fort. We made it to Riverwood, Cloud and I spent the night at the blacksmith's house, and I carried him here this morning. I got him settled in at the temple and then came up to tell you what had happened. Alvor hopes that you can send troops to Riverwood, they're worried that the dragon is still nearby.”

 

“I'll send a detachment out at once,” he declared, “Proventus, see to it.”

 

“Sir, if we send troops to Riverwood, Jarl Sidgeir will think we have sided with Ulfric Stormcloak and are preparing to attack him,” said the man who had been arguing with the Jarl when Zack came in.

 

“I said _see to it_ , Proventus!” the Jarl snapped, “I don't care what Jarl Sidgeir will think. I'll not sit idly and let a dragon burn my hold and slaughter my people!”

 

Proventus took a step back, clearly a bit cowed, “Yes, sir. I will do as you say.” He turned and walked quickly for the door to the side of the room, giving Zack a sideways glance.

 

The Jarl cleared his throat, and Zack looked back to him, “You've done me a service by bringing me this news, stranger.”

 

“The name's Zack. And it was nothing,” Zack said, “I mean, it's not like this was out of my way, and there's not much I can do for Cloud but sit next to him and fret and get in the healers' way...”

 

The Jarl smiled, “Even so, thank you. I'd like to give you a small reward for services rendered.” He raised his hand and took off one of his rings, a silver band with a small, reddish stone in it, and held it out to Zack. “Here, you ought to be able to trade this to Hulda for at least a week's worth of room and board at the Bannered Mare.”

 

Zack accepted the gift. That would make a difference for certain, if he didn't have to worry about where he would sleep or eat for a few days. “Thank you very much.”

 

“Can you use that sword?” the Jarl asked suddenly.

 

Zack grinned, “Yep! I started sword training and building my strength with my old mentor when I was ten. It took a year before I could hold it steady, let alone swing it. But I'm an expert with it now.”

 

“Really? Well then I might have a job for you,” he said, “It requires someone who has the strength and experience to brave an old ruin full of undead.”

 

Zack had certainly cleared old ruins of undead before, but he shook his head, “I'm sorry, I'm not going to sell my sword arm until Cloud's recovered. I won't leave him.”

 

“But you just said that you were only getting in the healers' way.”

 

“I can take an hour or two to run up a hill and deliver a message, but I can't leave for two or three days. What if he wakes up while I'm gone? I don't want him to think I've abandoned him.”

 

The Jarl looked disappointed, but nodded. “I understand. Well, when your friend is recovered, come see if I still need someone for the job. I'll pay you well.”

 

~~~

 

It had been two days with very little change in Cloud's condition. Aerith and Lady Danica were doing their best, Zack could tell, but they were clearly at a loss. Zack had wanted to stay in the Temple with Cloud, but Lady Danica told him quite firmly that with as many patients as they had, they couldn't afford to give a bed to someone who wasn't there for healing. Zack didn't like it, but the inn was very close to the temple, so he stayed there until Aerith shooed him out in the evening, and returned as soon as he woke in the morning. He wasn't getting enough sleep at night, and he often fell asleep with his head on Cloud's bed.

 

A gentle hand on his shoulder roused him from sleep, “Zack, wake up.”

 

Zack grunted, and looked up into Aerith's green eyes.

 

“Here, drink this," she said, handing him a small metal flask. Whatever was in it smelled like flowers. "It'll help. Your muscles are going to be stiff from sleeping like that."

 

"Oh, thanks," he said, accepting the flask and drinking the thin, watery potion. It didn't taste like anything much, but he felt the tension in his neck and shoulders ease immediately. "Do you have a potion for everything?"

 

"Just about," Aerith said, "My mother starting teaching me alchemy when I was barely more than a baby."

 

Zack smiled at her, and then looked back to Cloud. He was still staring blankly at the ceiling. Zack sighed heavily.

 

"He's doing a little better, actually," Aerith said, "He turned his head to look when I dropped something by his bed earlier, and his eyes follow your hand if you wave in front of his face."

 

"That's good," Zack said, testing it to see if he really was. Cloud's eyes followed his hand, just like Aerith had said. "That's great. Come on, Cloud. When you feel better, we can go visit your family. Your grandparents live in Skyrim, right? Wouldn't it be nice to see them?"

 

Cloud turned his head toward Zack, and his eyes seemed to focus a little.

 

"Do you think he'll be able to eat?" Aerith said, "I didn't want to just put food in his mouth and choke him, but he needs to eat something."

 

"Are you hungry, Cloud?" Zack asked, "There's soup, or bread and cheese if you're up to eating."

 

Cloud's brow wrinkled in confusion. Zack took that as a good sign.

 

"Okay, soup it is. I'll go get some for you. I'll be right back, so don't go anywhere."

 

Zack stood up, rolling his shoulders to rid them of the remaining stiffness. 

 

"While you're out, Zack, can you pick up today's food from Saadia at the Bannered Mare?" Aerith asked. "If you're walking around anyways. I'll sit with Cloud for you."

 

"Alright," Zack agreed. He didn't like leaving Cloud, but he also didn't like being so useless. He could do an errand for Aerith in the meanwhile.

 

It was a lovely day outside, bright and sunny with a cool breeze blowing up from the plains. He wondered if Aerith would let him take Cloud out for a walk. He wondered if Cloud would even notice the difference if Zack brought him outside. Probably not, he thought with a sigh.

 

The inn was all but deserted in the early afternoon, just Hulda and Saadia were in the main room, cleaning. Hulda looked up at him as he entered.

 

"You're back early," she said, "What can I get you?"

 

"The food for the Temple," Zack said, "Aerith asked me to fetch it for her."

 

"Oh, of course. Just a moment," Saadia said. She leaned her broom up against one of the posts by the hearth and disappeared back into the kitchen.

 

"How is your friend doing?" Hulda asked.

 

"About the same. He's focusing a little better today, but... he's still got a long way to go."

 

"I'm sorry to hear that," she said, "I'll be sure to keep him in my prayers."

 

Zack didn't know that her prayers would do Cloud any more good than his own had, but she was probably on better terms with the gods than he was. He'd cursed every one he could think of while trapped in Hojo's care, so they might be a little cross with him. He thanked her, and Saadia returned from the kitchen with a large covered pot and a bag of apples.

 

"Just tell Aerith to bring the pot back this evening, and we'll cook up their food for tomorrow," she said.

 

Zack nodded at her, and headed back to the temple. It appeared nothing had changed in the short time he'd been gone, though he'd hoped for some improvement. Cloud was still staring at the ceiling, and Aerith was sitting next to him, looking pensive. She looked up and smiled at him.

 

"Here, I'll take that," she said, "I'll give everyone their meal and then we can talk. I had an idea."

 

"What was your idea?" 

 

She opened the covered pot and began to dish up small bowls of soup. "Well, it seems to me that Cloud is almost awake, but very unfocused. So I was thinking that I could try putting a little magicka potion in his meal today."

 

"Magicka potion?" Zack repeated incredulously, "What good would that do?"

 

"Just a minute." Aerith took one of the full bowls and an apple to an injured Stormcloak soldier who was sitting up on his own, "Lunchtime, Alfrend. Vegetable soup today."

 

"A man needs his meat, elf," the soldier grumbled, "Are you trying to starve me, you Thalmor bi-"

 

"I would advise you don't finish that sentence," Aerith said, a sharp edge in her voice, "You're getting vegetable soup because that's what Hulda and Saadia sent us today. If you want meat, you're welcome to go out and buy it for yourself."

 

Zack had no idea how she managed to stay so calm, but she showed no signs of being bothered as she finished serving lunch to everyone else. Finally, she brought a bowl to Cloud's bedside.

 

"What was his problem?" Zack asked, keeping his voice down, though he was quite sure the soldier could hear him still.

 

"I get that on occasion," Aerith said, "It doesn't bother me that much. Everyone I care about treats me with respect, and as for him, he'll be healed and out of my hair in a few days."

 

"You shouldn't have to put up with that," Zack said, "Just 'cause you're an elf doesn't mean you're with the Thalmor!"

 

"They wouldn't accept me anyways," Aerith said, "I'm mixed-blood."

 

“You are?” Zack asked, surprised, “Well, I guess that makes sense, you don't really look like a normal Altmer...”

 

“My mother was Altmer,” she said, “And my father was a Bosmer, but his father was a Breton. He told me I got my eyes from my grandfather, but he died long before I was born.”

 

“Wow. Sounds like quite a family history.”

 

“It wasn't really all that unusual before the Oblivion Crisis. Here, lift him up, and we'll get him fed.”

 

It didn't seem like she was interested in going into any more detail, so Zack slid his hand under Cloud's shoulders and hoisted him into a sitting position. He braced Cloud's back against his shoulder until Cloud was sitting mostly upright on his own.

 

“Alright, Cloud, it's time for food. Are you hungry?”

 

Cloud grunted, and Zack smiled. That had sounded like an affirmative. Aerith held up the bowl, and raised the spoon up to Cloud's mouth. After a long moment, Cloud moved his lips and slurped noisily. Zack grinned, and petted his head. “There you go.” 

 

He glanced at the soup and saw it was a slightly different color from the other bowls. “Did you put magicka potion in that?”

 

“Yes,” Aerith said, wiping up a drip of soup from Cloud's chin, “It's easier to mix it into food than get him to drink it himself.”

 

“So... is that going to help him?” Zack asked.

 

“It's just a hunch,” Aerith said, “But if it doesn't work, it wont hurt him. Magic is a mental art. Learning and casting spells requires concentration, willpower, and intelligence. Potions can increase the amount of magical power you have to draw on, but they're not actually giving you more magical ability. Nothing actually does that. Magicka potions actually work by improving your concentration and willpower, making you better able to use your magic without wasting magicka, so it basically makes you feel like you have much more magic to draw on.”

 

“So, you're saying it will help his concentration?” Zack asked.

 

“I believe so. With luck, it should help him figure out what's real and what isn't. Give him a little protection against the illusions his mind is conjuring up. And like I said, if it doesn't work, it won't do him any harm.”

 

“That makes a lot of sense,” he looked down at Cloud, who was chewing what looked like a slightly undercooked piece of potato, “Is it good, Cloud?”

 

“Mm-mm,” Cloud grunted, and nodded. Zack couldn't help his grin.

 

“Looks like it may be helping, Aerith.”

 

“Or he's just hungry,” Aerith said, giving Cloud another spoonful when he opened his mouth, “Here you go, Cloud.”

 

Cloud chewed and swallowed, looking quite content. Whether or not Aerith's cures were having any effect, Zack couldn't help but be pleased at how happy Cloud looked. He hugged Cloud tightly, getting a protesting grunt.

 

“Get better soon, Cloud,” Zack said, “Cause I'm going to need you to watch my back.”


	3. Healing

Chapter 3 – Healing

 

Zack woke up that morning in the best mood he'd been in since they had first escaped from the dragon. Cloud had been able to eat by himself last night, and had been aware enough to speak a little bit, asking a few questions. Zack wasn't entirely sure that Cloud had comprehended that answers, but it was still improvement. He got out of the bed and stretched before pulling his boots on to go downstairs. He'd grab some bread for breakfast, maybe some cheese, and hurry back over to the temple to continue his vigil.

 

He took the stairs two at a time, and saw Hulda already up and tending the counter. He wondered if that woman ever slept.

 

“Good morning!” he greeted her brightly.

 

“Well, you seem in a cheery mood. What can I get you?”

 

“Just some bread and cheese,” Zack said, then noticed the smell of something baking in the kitchen, “Oh, are any of those apple things done baking yet?”

 

“Saadia just took the first tray out of the oven,” Hulda said.

 

“Great! I'll take two of those, too.”

 

He waited more or less patiently for her to bundle up his breakfast order, and headed for the inn door. He opened it, and nearly ran right into Aerith. He felt his heart plummet. Why was she here? Had something happened to Cloud? Something bad must have happened for her to be coming to get him. Cloud had relapsed – no, Cloud was even sicker – Cloud had died in the night – 

 

She smiled warmly at him, “Oh, I was just coming to get you.”

 

She probably wouldn't be smiling like that if something bad had happened... “Cloud?” he asked.

 

“He's awake and asking for you,” Aerith said, “He was worried I was lying when I told him you'd be there soon, so I told him I'd go out and get you to calm him down. Let's go, before he frets himself into a fit.”

 

Zack sighed with relief, “He's asking for me?”

 

“He's still pretty confused,” Aerith said, taking Zack's arm and guiding him out of the inn, “From what you said, he's only been fully awake and aware once before. And when he's been close to awake before, you've always been there. I'm not sure he knows what to do with himself without you around.”

 

It was only Aerith's gentle grip on his arm that kept Zack from sprinting full-tilt to the Temple like a clan of trolls were on his heels. As it was, he all but dragged Aerith along, although she didn't seem to mind too much. As he reached the temple, he heard a loud noise from inside. Curiously, he opened the door.

 

Apparently, the loud crash had been caused by Cloud falling out of his bed, blanket tangled around his legs. Lady Danica was hovering nearby, looking nervous, but not reaching out to help Cloud at all.

 

"What happened?" Aerith asked, letting go of Zack's arm and hurrying over. Cloud suddenly lashed out, catching Aerith on the ankle and making her jump back in surprise.

 

"Cloud!" Zack said, running over. He should have expected this, honestly. Waking up in a new and frightening place, without the only constant he'd known, was just the kind of thing to send Cloud into a blind panic. He caught Cloud by the shoulder and pulled him up to a sitting position.

 

"Cloud, calm down," he ordered, holding Cloud's face in his hands and making Cloud look at him, "It's me, I'm right here. There's nothing to be afraid of..."

 

"Zack?" Cloud asked, eyes focusing on Zack's face.

 

"Yeah, it's alright. I'm here. There's nothing to be afraid of. Now, how about you stop scaring the healers and get back up on your bed? I brought breakfast."

 

Cloud looked around, seeming a bit confused, "This isn't Rielle..."

 

"No, Cloud. We escaped Rielle a year ago. This is the temple of Kynareth in Whiterun. Remember? We crossed the border a few days ago."

 

Cloud blinked, then comprehension seemed to spread over his face, "They tried to cut your head off."

 

"Right," Zack said with a laugh, "And then we ran away from a dragon. You were awake for that. You remember it?"

 

Cloud nodded slowly, "There were two soldiers with us?"

 

"Right. Hadvar and Ralof. They made it out with us and then went back to their homes."

 

"They... kept arguing, right?" Cloud asked.

 

"Exactly!" Zack said, feeling a huge smile spreading over his face, "See, you remember things. Come on, let's have some breakfast. I brought you some bread and cheese and an apple pastry."

 

He carefully unwrapped Cloud's legs from the blanket and helped him up to sit on the bed. He was really glad that Cloud hadn't hurt anyone. It would have been easy for him to do a lot of damage in his blind panic.

 

"There you go," Zack said, handing Cloud the apple pastry first, "Now, why did you panic when Aerith came to get me?"

 

"I saw... I saw Hojo," Cloud said, looking nervously around as though he expected to see him pop out from behind a column.

 

"You only thought you did, Cloud. Hojo's dead. I made sure of that myself when we escaped."

 

"Really?" Cloud said.

 

"Really."

 

"I... was just seeing things?" Cloud asked, apparently looking for confirmation, "I saw bodies and mages and he was standing over me."

 

"That was me standing over you, fool boy," Lady Danica said, apparently over her fear now that Cloud had calmed down. Cloud looked at her, confused.

 

"I'd be willing to bet that you just got so nervous when I went to get Zack that your mind started making you see everything you're afraid of," Aerith cut in, "It happens sometimes to people who have been through wars, or nearly died. Lady Danica certainly isn't the man who hurt you, and the 'bodies' you saw are the other patients, I suspect."

 

"Oh."

 

"There's nothing to be afraid of, Cloud," Zack said, reaching out to rub Cloud's shoulder reassuringly, "Lady Danica and Aerith have been taking care of you."

 

Cloud looked up at the two women and spoke directly to them for the first time, "I'm sorry I tried to attack you. I just -"

 

"It's alright, Cloud," Aerith said gently, "I've gotten much worse from other patients. I nearly lost an eye one time when an old man mistook me for the woman his son ran off with."

 

"I'm still sorry," Cloud said.

 

"I'll tell you what," Lady Danica said, "Next time you start to feel scared and you think there's any chance of it turning into a panic like that, please try to tell me or Aerith. We can give you a calm spell so you don't lose your head again."

 

"Alright," Cloud said with a nod, "I'll try." He took a big bite of the apple pastry.

 

"Hey," Zack said, looking at Aerith, "Do you think it would be alright for me to take him outside for a while? It's a gorgeous day, he shouldn't have to be cooped up in here."

 

"Oh, um... Well, I think that would be alright," Aerith said, "I'm just worried that he might panic again."

 

"I'll be fine," Cloud said, "I just got scared because I didn't know where Zack was, and you said you were going to get him, but I started to worry that you were lying to me, and then I saw Hojo..." He shook himself, "I saw the priestess, and thought she was Hojo. But I won't be afraid if I have Zack with me."

 

"If you're sure, I guess it will be alright. Do you know a calm spell, Zack? Just in case?"

 

"Sorry," Zack said, "I know two spells, and that's it. But if it looks like he's panicking, I'll bring him back here. Does that work?"

 

Aerith smiled, "Yes, that should be fine. It's not that I think you're lying, Cloud," she said to him, "It's just that panic is so hard to predict, and you might feel fine now, but panic a minute from now, and never see it coming."

 

Cloud nodded, but had a distinct pout on his face. He hated being told he couldn't do anything. Zack nudged him with his elbow to distract him.

 

"Come on, Cloud," he said, "You grew up in Skyrim, right? Ever been to Whiterun before?"

 

Cloud's face split into a smile, "Not since I was a boy. I wonder how it's changed."

 

"Well, let's go see," Zack said, standing up and offering Cloud his hand. Cloud took it and got up, looking pretty happy. Freedom would do that for a man, even if Cloud was still recovering from their ordeal. "Bring your breakfast, you can eat it while we walk around town."

 

He gave Aerith a wave as he guided Cloud towards the door, "See you in a little while, Aerith – but hopefully not _too_ soon." He gave her a wink, and was gratified to see her blush.

 

~ ~ ~

 

Zack hadn't realized just how many people he had met and talked to in Whiterun until he was walking around with Cloud and making introductions.

 

"You make friends so easily," Cloud said, in a slightly melancholy tone.

 

"I guess so," Zack replied with a shrug. He hadn't really though of any of these people as 'friends', exactly. Just people he knew a little bit and liked well enough. While he wouldn't walk out of a tavern if he saw any of them inside, he didn't know if he would seek any of them out, either. "How about some fruit? The woman who runs the fruit stand said she give me some stuff today."

 

"Do I want to know what you did to have her offer that?" Cloud asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.

 

"Last night, this guy was bothering her at the tavern and wouldn't leave her alone, so I punched him out. She was grateful."

 

Cloud sighed, and shook his head, "You never change, Zack."

 

"I try to avoid it," Zack said brightly, "It gives me a rash."

 

It was a poor joke, but Cloud laughed anyway. Zack smiled. It had taken him a very long time to make Cloud comfortable with laughing, but it was worth the effort. Cloud needed to have more things to be happy about.

 

As promised, the fruit seller gave them each an apple, and a small bunch of grapes to share. They wandered around the market, looking at the wares and idly eating. Cloud was fairly quiet, apparently taking it all in, but Zack still worried. He wanted to keep Cloud talking, so that he could be assured that Cloud wasn't slipping away again.

 

“Hey, do you want to go down to the weapons shop by the gate?” Zack asked, and was pleased to see Cloud perk up, “I mean, I found some stuff while were escaping from Helgen, but it's poor quality and you'd need better if you want to do anything more than... Anyways, we could see about finding some weapons for you.”

 

“Armor, too?” Cloud asked.

 

“Actually, the blacksmith's wife back in Riverwood gave me a set of leather armor that'll fit you. It's in my room at the inn. So let's go see what they've got and find out how many bears I'll have to skin to get you a decent sword.”

 

“It shouldn't be too many if the pelt is in good condition,” Cloud said earnestly. 

 

Zack laughed, “Come on, Cloud. It's down this way.”

 

He led Cloud down the cobblestone street until they reached the shop called Warmaiden's, and opened the door for him. Cloud's entire face lit up like a child looking at a tray full of sweets, and he eagerly went to the shelves to browse.

 

“I'm going to guess that you favor lighter armor and one-handed weapons," the burly man behind the counter said, when he saw Cloud admiring a pair of scaled bracers.

 

Cloud looked up, surprised, "How could you tell?"

 

"Years of experience," the man said with a smile, "You're wiry in build, so you probably favor speed and mobility over brute strength."

 

"Yeah," Cloud agreed, "But I can pack a punch if I need to." Zack recognized the defensiveness in Cloud's tone. He hated anybody implying that he was weak.

 

"Do you prefer blades, or something blunt?" the shopkeeper asked.

 

"I'd rather have a sword, but I can use an axe if I need to. And I'm a great shot with a bow or a sling --"

 

"But any Nord would prefer to be up close and personal while fighting, right?"

 

"Depends on what I'm fighting," Cloud said, "I'd rather not get up close and personal with a sabre cat, if it's all the same."

 

The shopkeeper laughed, "Smart lad! Well, I don't have bows for sale, but I think you'll like this." He reached under the counter and pulled out a sword. It looked like steel, and good quality to Zack's eye. "My wife finished it just last week, and her work is only improving. Test the weight, give it a swing."

 

Cloud reached out and picked it up easily. "It's really light..."

 

"But strong," the shopkeeper insisted, "Good quality, and a fair price. Do you want it?"

 

"Er..." Cloud said, glancing at Zack, "I'm not sure we can afford it... how much is it?"

 

"Sixty septims."

 

That _was_ a fair price for a good steel sword, Zack knew. And if he hadn't lost his stash of money when they were arrested, he'd be able to afford it, but he couldn't right now, living as he was on the reward the Jarl had given him. But Cloud would need a weapon if he were going to accompany Zack with monster hunting, and Zack wasn't sure if he could get him one without going broke.

 

"I'm going to need to find work," he said.

 

The shopkeeper looked him up and down, "Well, if you've got the muscle for it, my wife is always looking for helpers with the smelter and the forge. She'd trade you this sword for a day's labor, for certain. Do you know your way around a smithy?"

 

"A little bit," Zack said. He patted Cloud on the shoulder, "Cloud here does some excellent leatherwork, too."

 

Cloud flushed, "I'm not 'excellent', Zack." But he looked pleased with the compliment nonetheless.

 

"Are you fit to work, lad?"

 

Cloud frowned, "I'm fine."

 

"Maybe," Zack answered, and was unsurprised when Cloud turned a glare on him, "It's not that I'm underestimating you, Cloud. It's just that you seemed fine before, when we were escaping Helgen, but then you weren't. I'd rather be cautious, is all."

 

Cloud frowned, "Since when have _you_ ever been cautious?"

 

"Since I had more than just myself at risk," Zack said softly, "I've seen you hurt way too many times in the last five years. I'd rather not see it again."

 

Cloud sighed, defeated, "I must have really scared you, huh?"

 

"More than you can believe." He took Cloud's hand and squeezed it gently, "Come on, we should head back."

 

Zack led Cloud back up to the temple, taking his time to meander and distract Cloud with the shops. Cloud himself was very subdued again, and Zack hoped it would only be a temporary thing. He knew Cloud must be resenting his concern, but he really couldn't help it. Cloud had seemed like a corpse when he was at his worst, and Zack never wanted to see him like that again.

  
Aerith greeted him with a warm smile when they reached the temple, waving at them from one of the benches, where she sat next to a woman with her arm in a sling.

  
"I've got something for you, Zack," she said, "If you'll just wait a moment."

  
She turned back to the woman and checked over her arm, gingerly picking it up and turning it, "How does that feel, Tifa?"

  
"Good as new," Tifa said with a bright smile, waving it around.

  
"I'm glad, but you be careful with that arm for a few days," Aerith said sternly, "Breaking it right at the elbow like that is a tricky injury to heal, and the joint will be weaker for a little while."

  
"Right," Tifa said, "Next time I throw a shoplifter, I'll be sure to send him over my hip instead."

  
"That's all I ask," Aerith said with a bright smile, "Now, shoo! Back to work with you."

  
Tifa rose to her feet and headed for the door. Seeing Zack and Cloud, she paused.

  
"I'm glad to see your friend is better," she said, "No hard feelings about the gate?"

  
Zack shook his head, "Nah. You were just doing your job."

 

She smiled brightly at them, “Thanks. I'll see you around!” She left the temple with a wave.

 

Cloud gave him a curious look at the door shut, "Who was that?"

 

"She was the guard at the gate when we got to town. She didn't want to let us in. Her name's Tifa Lockhart."

 

Cloud's head whipped back around to the closed door, "Really?"

 

"You know her?" Aerith asked, approaching them.

 

"Kind of," Cloud said, "I mean, I met her when I was a kid. We lived in Whiterun for about three months before moving down to Leyawiin, and Tifa was about the same age as me... I wanted to be friends with her, but her friends didn't really like me and I never got the nerve to talk to her."

 

Zack reached up and ruffled Cloud's hair, "Young love, huh?"

 

Cloud shook his head with a snort, "No, not really. Just a little crush that I hadn't thought about in years."

 

"Maybe you should think about it," Zack suggested, "I mean, she's good looking and breaks her elbow catching shoplifters. What's not to like?"

 

Cloud gave him a scathing look, "No."

 

Zack shrugged. He wasn't exactly surprised. Cloud showed very little interest in women, though Zack had certainly tried to set him up a few times before their capture in Rielle. It mostly ended with Cloud very irritated at him, though, and it was probably better not to push him into anything when he was still recovering, anyways.

  
Zack turned to Aerith, "You had something for me?" he asked.

 

"Oh, yes, right here," she said, reaching into the bag on her hip and pulling out a book, "I've had this for a while now. It's a calm spell you can use in case Cloud starts to panic again. Hopefully you won't need it, but just in case..."

 

Zack accepted the book, "I've never actually used a spell tome before... I'm not a mage at all."

 

"It's very straightforward," Cloud piped up, "Just read the incantation in the book aloud and the spell will move from the book into you. It's the same as being given a spell from a magic user, it just goes through the book first."

 

"Really?" Zack opened the book and looked at it closely. The words looked like gibberish to him, but he pronounced the letters as best as he could. They glowed a bright blue and faded from the page.

 

"Is that really all there is to it?" he asked.

 

"Should be," Aerith said, "Can you prepare the spell?"

 

"I'll try..." Zack said. He took a deep breath and tried to clear his mind as Angeal had taught him early in his apprenticeship. Yes, there was his magic. There was the healing spell, and the flame spell - the only two spells Angeal had managed to impart to him before giving up on teaching him magic entirely. There was something that felt new, so he took another deep breath and called it forward, just like he did with the healing spell.

 

"Very good!" Aerith said warmly, "Here, try casting it on me. I'll see if you've got it right."

 

Zack nodded, and cast the spell. It took a lot more energy than the basic healing spell, but didn't keep drawing on his magicka...

 

Aerith nodded in approval, smiling vaguely, "That felt right. Good."

 

Zack flexed his fingers, looking at his hand, "I'm probably never going to be comfortable using magic. But thank you for the spell."

 

"You're very welcome. Really, I just wanted you to have it in case Cloud needed it. Now that he's woken up, you can take him back to the inn with you and we can free up a bed for a new patient."

 

Cloud breathed a sigh of relief, and Zack smiled at him. Cloud would be much more comfortable in the inn than in the temple's makeshift hospital beds.

 

"That sounds great," he said, "I'll bring you back if you start having any more trouble, but for now, we can get a good night's sleep tonight and tomorrow we can look for some work."

 

Cloud smiled at him, "Just like it used to be."

 

Zack nodded, "Yeah. We can trade a day of work at the forge for that sword for you, and after that... I've already heard about a few bounties and a ruin filled with undead."

 

"Ugh," Cloud said with a shudder. Zack laughed. Cloud had always hated undead.

 

"Are you going to hate me if I tell you that's the one I think we should do?"

 

Cloud winced, "No, but I will ask you _why_."

 

"The Jarl mentioned he might have a job for me when my friend is recovered," Zack said.

 

Cloud gave him a sideways look, "When did you meet the Jarl?"

 

"About an hour after I brought you to the temple. I needed to tell him about the dragon attack in Helgen, and we talked a little bit. He thanked me for bringing him information, he asked if I knew how to use this sword, and mentioned that he might have a job for a man of my talents."

 

Cloud sighed heavily, "Zack, I swear..."

 

"What?"

 

"One of these days you're going to volunteer to destroy the Aldmeri Dominion 'cause someone wants it to be done."

 

"I'm not _that_ bad." He protested, knowing that it was a weak protest. He agreed to help pretty much anyone who asked. That might be a habit he should really work on breaking, as it was what had sent them into Rielle in the first place.

 

Aerith giggled, "This is an old argument, I take it?"

 

Cloud nodded, "He agrees to help anyone who asks him, sometimes before he's even found out what they want."

 

Aerith gave him a warm smile, "Oh really? Then maybe you could help me out."

 

Zack beamed at her, "Anything for you, my lady. How may I be of service?" He asked with a gallant bow, mostly because it made Cloud make a hilarious noise of frustration. He meant it, though. Aerith had been instrumental in helping Cloud recover - even if he was't all there yet, Zack had his best friend back due to the elf's care and skill. There was not much he would not do to repay her at this point. 

 

"You can pick flowers for me," Aerith said.

 

Zack laughed, "Really? Flowers?"

 

"Yes, flowers!" Aerith said, "You'd be amazed how many commonplace flowers have healing properties when you know how to make them into potions. Lavender, thistles, tundra cotton, even those little red and purple weeds farmers are constantly pulling out of their fields are all very useful for healing potions. And as you can tell, we need a lot of those."

 

Zack hadn't ever thought about it. He knew next to nothing about alchemy, preferring to leave it to alchemists. But he knew that the alchemist back in Leyawiin had made potions with everything from flax to wheels of cheese, so it stood to reason that flowers and weeds Zack never thought anything of were probably useful to alchemists, too.

 

"Alright, then. Flowers for the lady. I can do that." He gave her a wink, "I'll make sure to get you all the prettiest ones."

 

Aerith gave him a wry smile, "You're a flirt."

 

“You're worth flirting with.”

 

She tried to give him a stern look, but couldn't keep a smile off her face. Zack preened internally. He could still charm beautiful women, even ones who were quite obviously higher class than he was. Aerith rolled her eyes and looked to Cloud.

 

“Take your friend and go,” she said with a light laugh, “And next time you come here, I truly hope it's to bring me flowers.”

 

Cloud nodded, and took Zack by the elbow, tugging him towards the door. Zack let himself be dragged, but he blew a kiss to Aerith on the way out. 

 

To his delight, she returned the gesture.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Scary old ruins filled with undead!


	4. Bleak Falls Barrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Off to the main adventure we go!

Chapter 4 – Bleak Falls Barrow

The morning that Cloud and Zack set out for Bleak Falls Barrow was cold and foggy.  Zack wasn't too pleased about the chill, complaining in a more-or-less good natured way as they headed for the edge of the plains.  Cloud remembered that this was a very normal morning for Whiterun and assured him that the fog would burn off by noon.  He wasn't put off by the weather, finding the chilly morning pleasantly nostalgic.  He had lived in Southern Cyrodiil for seven years, and never really become accustomed to the damp heat.  Eating dinner by a roaring fire and curling up in a bed with another person more than made up for the cold, in his opinion.

 

He put his hand on the hilt of the new sword at his waist.  It was well-made, and worth every minute of the grueling day of work Adrianne at Warmaiden's had put him and Zack through to earn it.  He couldn't say she'd been an unfair employer, though, since she'd decided their work was also worth the new steel gauntlets Zack was wearing. 

 

Cloud smiled a bit.  Now _this_ was how the world was supposed to work.  Zack and he would work hard for fair payment, and maybe gain a little glory for killing monsters and catching criminals with bounties.  No lunatic mages to put them in cages and torture them for years.  They were free, and while he may have needed Zack to use the calming spell when he woke from nightmares, everything seemed to be going quite well.

 

"It's good to be back to this, isn't it?" Zack said, apparently thinking much the same thing as Cloud.

 

"I could have done without the condescending court wizard, but yes," Cloud agreed, "It is."

 

"It's not like we've never worked for people like that before," Zack said, "But hey, we'll get the job done and make him eat his words and it'll be great."

 

"Right."

 

They passed through Riverwood on the road to the Barrow, and Zack paused outside of a smithy and smiled widely at the smith, who was bending over the grindstone working on an axe.

 

"Hello, Alvor!" Zack called brightly. 

 

The smith looked up in surprise, and nodded when he saw Zack.

 

"You're back."

 

"I thought you ought to know I told Jarl Balgruuf about the dragon," he said.

 

"I guessed when he had extra guards sent to the village.  Thank you.  It helps me sleep easier at night," he looked at Cloud, "Looks like you're doing much better.  I'm glad to see it."

 

At Cloud's confused look, Zack said "We spent the night on his floor after we escaped Helgen.  You were pretty out of it."

 

Cloud blushed a little, annoyed that so many people had seen him in that state.  He'd spent most of his life being thought of as small and weak, and while he had occasionally made it work to his advantage, he hated every second of it.  Well, it wasn't like Zack had had much of a choice, and the blacksmith didn't seem to have any pity in his expression.

 

"The healers at the temple cured me.  I'm fine now," Cloud said, "Thank you for your hospitality earlier, even if I was too sick to remember it."

 

"No true Nord would ever turn away a man in need," Alvor said, and Cloud resisted the urge to roll his eyes.  He'd heard a lot about the things a 'true Nord' did growing up, and he had no idea how anyone managed to do all of them.

 

"What brings you back to Riverwood?" he asked.

 

"We're going up to Bleak Falls Barrow," Zack said, "Someone hired us to retrieve some kind of ancient artifact from it."

 

"Up to the Barrow, really?" Alvor said, "You should talk to Lucan Valerius before you go.  Apparently some thieves stole a family heirloom from his shop and he thinks they're holed up at the Barrow.  He's offering a reward."

 

Cloud looked over at Zack, who seemed to be thinking it over, "Zack..."

 

"What?  We're going up there anyway, and we could use the money.  We've got fourteen septims to our name right now, Cloud."

 

Cloud sighed, "Oh, all right.  Let's go find this man."

 

Zack beamed at him and ruffled his hair.  Cloud most assuredly did _not_ pout.

 

As it turned out, Lucan was across the street in the Riverwood Trader and the family heirloom that had been stolen was large and fairly noticeable – a dragon's foot with gold claws.  He was positive that the thief was one of the bandits that had been camped up by the Barrows for the last month.  The Jarl didn't usually send any guards to clear out bandit dens unless they started raiding the towns or trade caravans, so he had little hope of it being returned to him without asking people to go after it.

 

His sister insisted on walking them to the edge of town, and Cloud tried not to let him irritation show too much when he was treated to another show of Zack flirting with every pretty woman he laid eyes on, but fortunately it did not last too long, since Riverwood was a small town.

 

"You never change," he sighed, when she had waved goodbye and turned back to town.

 

"Would you really want me to?" Zack asked.

 

"No, not really," Cloud admitted grudgingly. 

 

Zack was outgoing and friendly and liked everyone, which was how Zack had become close friends with the shy Nord boy who was too nervous to reach out to people.  Cloud had been terribly unhappy when his mother had brought him to Leyawiin - it was hot and humid and people had made fun of his northern accent.  The number of Khajiit and Argonians had bothered him, too, although he had mostly gotten over that since then. 

 

Zack had made it better when he decided to become Cloud's friend, and Cloud had never forgotten it.  Putting up with the teasing and hair ruffling and constant flirting with women of every species was a small price to pay for the kind of friend who would risk his life many times over to save yours.

 

He walked closer and nudged Zack's shoulder with his own, "But I thought you liked the elf."

 

"Who, Aerith?" Zack asked, "I do like her, but she's not interested in anything other than a little flirting.  I can tell."

 

Cloud privately believed Zack was wrong about that, but kept his mouth shut as they climbed the mountain.  As long as Zack didn't think it was serious, Cloud wouldn't lose him.

 

Bleak Falls Barrow loomed above them, rising out of the fog, the snow on the buttresses looking like the ribs of some long-dead creature.  Zack gave a low whistle.

 

"If it looks like that in ruins, it might have been a real sight in its day,"

 

Cloud nodded vaguely.  He'd seen ancient Nord constructions before, and they all seemed more or less the same to him, majestic and unsettling reminders of a time lost long ago.  He was more concerned with whatever traps or dangers might be hidden inside.  He pointed up in the direction of the entrance.

 

"Does that look like smoke to you?" he asked.

 

Zack looked where Cloud was pointing, then nodded, "Yeah.  Looks like someone's got a campfire up there.  Probably our bandits."

 

Cloud nodded, "I'd think it was bandits even if we hadn't been told about it.  Hunters don't set up camp in the ruins around here.  Game avoids them."

 

"Good to know," Zack said, "I'll go up and see if I can talk to them, but if they attack, you come and back me up."

 

"Got it." Bandits tended to be cowardly, and Zack was sometimes able to intimidate them into giving up before he even had to fight.  They both preferred that option when it worked.

 

They picked their way up the hill.  The snow clung to the mountains at this height, crunching under their boots.  It was a very loud sound in the stillness of the air.  When the ground flattened out and the Barrow was directly ahead of them, Zack held up a hand to signal Cloud to stop.  Cloud nodded silently, and crouched behind a snow-covered bush.  It wasn't much cover, but they'd probably be well-distracted by Zack.  He wished they'd been able to afford a bow for him before this job.  A well-aimed arrow could change the tide of battle.

 

He saw a woman in fur armor descend the stairs.  Zack's posture was tense – no chance he was going to try and flirt with her to ease their way.  They spoke for a few moments, and then she drew her sword, and Zack drew his.  Cloud waited until he heard the clang of two swords hitting each other, and burst out of his hiding spot to help Zack. 

 

An arrow whizzed past his ear, and he turned to look for the spot it had come from.  There was an archer on a broken stone pillar, and Cloud didn't take any more time to consider his actions before he rushed the archer.  Zack would never take an arrow in the back on his watch.

 

He made quick work of the archer once he had backed him into a corner, then turned back to see Zack putting down a bear of a man.  The woman he had first spoken to seemed to be fleeing down the mountain, an obvious stumble in her stride.

 

Zack straightened up as Cloud approached, "Where'd the second one go?"

 

"She made a break for it down the mountain," Cloud said, "I wouldn't bother going after her, she looked like she was hurt pretty bad."

 

"I asked her about the claw, and she let slip that someone called 'Arvel' took it inside," Zack said, "Which is, coincidentally, where we need to go anyways."

 

Cloud nodded.  He retrieved the bow from the man he had fought and took his quiver.  Only nine arrows.  Unless he was lucky enough to find more inside, he'd need to be sparing with his shots for a while.

 

"Think there will be more bandits inside?"

 

"Probably just the one she mentioned, if he's even still alive.  Undead tend to get really protective of their burial places."

 

"Right," Zack said with a laugh, "You know, we're really lunatics to make our living this way."

 

"It was your idea in the first place." Cloud reminded him.

 

"You never said no."

 

They pushed open the ancient door to the Barrow just a crack, just enough to slip inside without much of a chance of alerting any undead that might be lurking in the first chamber.  There were a number of rats, and evidence that the bandits had camped inside, but no undead and no sign of 'Arvel' as they descended into the ruin.  The tunnels were worryingly empty.  Cloud was always suspicious when they went too long in a ruin without running into some kind of difficulty other than rats.

 

There was light towards the end of the tunnel and Zack gesture for him to stop.

 

"Someone in that room," he whispered, pointing at the silhouette of a shadow on the floor.

 

As they slowly approached the room, they heard the loud thunk of some ancient mechanism being triggered, and then the hiss of darts.  Cloud rounded the corner just in time to see a man collapse with a soft cry.  Darts were being fired from all over the room, but they stopped after a moment.

 

Zack stepped into the room and checked the body.  "Dead," he declared, "There must have been some nasty poison on that trap he triggered.  Watch your step in here."

 

Cloud nodded vaguely, examining the room.  There was what looked like a locked gate, some carvings on the wall, and three stone plinths with carvings that seemed of a similar design.  The dead man's body was slumped next to a lever, conspicuously in the center of the room. "I don't see any tripwires or pressure plates.  He must have pulled the lever."

 

"Damn fool thing to do," Zack muttered, "It's in the middle of the room, it's obviously a trap."

 

"No..." Cloud said, looking at one of the plinths more closely.  He reached out and pushed it, and it moved easily, spinning on its base.   He reached out to one of the other ones, and it spun as well.

 

"I think it's a puzzle," he said, "I bet we have to get these three plinths aligned to get the door open.  One combination will open the door, anything else triggers the trap."

 

"That makes sense," Zack said, "Anybody supposed to be down here would already know the right combination, and poison darts do tend to discourage your run-of-the-mill grave robbers.  The question is, what's the right combination?"

 

Cloud looked up at the carvings on the wall above the door.  The middle one had fallen sometime in the last several centuries, but it was still visible.  "I think it's probably those three," he said, pointing at the carvings, "See?  Snake, snake, whale."

 

Zack looked up and frowned, "Why would the ancient Nords carve the answer to their puzzle on the wall?"

 

"Your guess is as good as mine," Cloud said with a shrug.  He walked to the pillars and turned them to match the carvings above.  "I have a rope in my bag.  Let's tie it around the lever and pull it from the hall so we'll be safe if I'm wrong."

 

"Good plan," Zack said brightly, "This is why I keep you around."

 

When the door opened and no darts fired, Cloud couldn't keep himself from giving Zack a very smug look.  "Told you so."

 

He didn't even mind the hair ruffling he got in response.

 

~ ~ ~

 

Zack could tell that Cloud was back to normal, or at least what counted as normal for Cloud.  Cloud had always been good at finding traps and getting around them safely, and Zack was thrilled to have his help once again.

 

There was an old chest with a few coins in it in the next room, which Zack and Cloud divided evenly before they took the spiral staircase down into the ruin.  The corridor at the bottom of the stairs was covered in cobwebs, which Cloud commented on.

 

"Ugh.  Probably going to be frostbite spiders down here," he said with a shudder, "I hate those things."

 

"I'm with you there," Zack agreed.  Regular-sized spiders were totally fine, but the giant ones were a little much.

 

"Is someone there?" a voice came from deeper inside, “Soling, is that you?  I need your help!”

 

"Who's there?" Zack called.

 

"Help!  It's coming back!" the panicked voice screamed.

 

Zack didn't take any more time to consider it and rushed forward, clearing the web blocking the door with his sword.  There was a Frostbite spider inside the room, and Zack wasted no time taking one of its legs off with his sword.  Cloud came up from his left with a flame spell, and the creature let out a hideous shriek as it died.

 

"Yeah, the giant spiders are my least favorite thing about Skyrim so far," he said to Cloud, "I'm going to avoid them whenever possible."

 

He was trying to clean the sticky web off of his sword, when the person who had cried for help spoke again.

 

"You did it.  You killed it.  Now cut me down before anything else shows up."

 

Zack turned to see a dark elf partially suspended in spider webs, "Woah.  Yeah, hang on a minute there, I'll have you down in a jiffy."

 

"Sweet breath of Arkay, thank you," the dark elf said.

 

Zack considered the way he was hanging and quickly determined that cutting him loose with the buster sword would be more likely to cut the poor sap in half.  He stepped aside.

 

"Cloud, I think you should do this," he said.

 

Cloud glanced at Zack's sword and laughed, "All right, I'll get him."

 

"I have a dagger if that will work better," the elf said, eying Cloud's sword and the flame spell still prepared in his hand warily.

 

"No, this will be fine," Cloud said, holding his fiery hand up, "Don't worry, I'm very good at fire magic.  I can even summon flame atronachs."

 

"What's your name, friend?" Zack asked. 

 

"Arvel," the dark elf said, "They call me Arvel the Swift."

 

"Are you the one who has Lucan's golden claw?" Zack asked.

 

"Yes, I have it," Arvel said, "I know how it works.  The claw, the markings, the door in the hall of secrets.  I know how they all fit together!  You won't believe the power the Nords have hidden away in here.  Help me down, and I'll share it with you."

 

Cloud looked at Zack, who nodded.  Arvel sounded grateful enough that he'd probably agree to let them have the claw if they asked, and he'd have a hard time getting out of the ruin past the two of them.

 

He reached up and carefully began to burn the web holding Arvel in place.  After a couple of minutes work, Arvel was able to free himself from the rest of the web.  He dropped to the ground and looked up at them.  Zack recognized his expression, but was surprised when Arvel instead bolted deeper into the ruin instead of for the door.

 

"You fools!" he shouted over his shoulder, "Why should I share the treasure with anyone?"

 

Zack ran after him, but they had barely reached one more room before he heard Arvel scream.  He rounded the corner and saw an odd-looking zombie.  It seemed dried out instead of rotting, and it was advancing on Arvel with a battleaxe.

 

Arvel dodged the blow and ran for the way out, but apparently triggered a trap on the way, for a row of old timber and spikes swung forward and hit him.  Arvel crumpled to the ground and did not rise.

 

He didn't have time to waste on worrying about the now-dead elf, since the undead had now noticed him and Cloud.  Cloud was attacking with his fire spell, which seemed very effective on these odd, dry zombies.

 

"What are these things called?" Zack asked, bringing the blunt side of his sword down on the zombie's neck and shoulder.  The crushing blow crippled it.

 

"Draugr," Cloud said, turning his spell on the draugr, "The ancient Nords preserved their dead with salt."

 

"Neat!" The draugr was dead, and Zack relaxed, "Weak to fire, huh?"

 

"Most undead are, but draugr especially so," Cloud said.  He walked over to Arvel's body and shook his head, "Idiot.  We would've shared with him, and he would have made it with our help."

 

"Check him," Zack said, "We'll need to find that claw."

 

Cloud bent over the body, then straightened up holding what could only be the claw, "Right here.  It was tied to his belt."

 

He handed the claw to Zack, who examined it.  It was an ornate old piece of art, obviously gold-plated rather than solid gold, to judge by the weight.  "How it all fits together..." he said musingly, "I wonder how it does fit."

 

Cloud reached into Arvel's pouch, then pulled his hand out with a grin, "Looks like he kept a journal.  Maybe he wrote it down."

 

Zack took the book and flipped through it.  On one of the last entries, he saw the words "golden claw" and he stopped to read it.  There was a bit of bragging about how clever he had thought himself, and something that looked like a riddle.

 

"'When you have the golden claw, the solution is in the palm of your hands'," Zack read, and shook his head, "I hate riddles."

 

"We'll figure it out," Cloud said reassuringly, "Let's push on."

 

It was fairly straightforward from that point on.  They fought a few more draugr, and Cloud crawled on his stomach under a trap of swinging blades to reach the mechanism that shut it off.  It was very much like exploring the old Ayleid ruins in Cyrodiil, though the architecture was different, with lots of narrow passageways between small to medium-sized rooms.  The passages made Cloud noticably nervous.  He had never liked enclosed spaces to start with, and after his ordeal at Hojo's hands, he was even less comfortable with them.  Zack worried that he might have to use a calm spell on Cloud before they left.

 

Fortunately, they found themselves in a wider corridor after clearing a large room, and Cloud's building panic seemed to be lessening.

 

"Hey, look at that," Zack said, pointing at an elaborately carved wall at the end of the corridor.  There were arches with symbols on them embedded in the wall, and beneath them, a depression which looked like it was in the shape of the claw.

 

Zack lifted up the claw and put it into the depression, and the whole thing sunk into the wall and twisted, but nothing happened.

 

"Great," Zack said, "Looks like we've got another puzzle to figure out."

 

He touched one of the arches and discovered it was actually a ring which spun around to another symbol.

 

"Does it look like any of those carvings conveniently tell us what the right combination is?" Zack asked waving the claw around in vague frustration.

 

"No, but..." Cloud caught Zack's wrist and turned his hand around, "I think this does."  He pointed to the symbols on the bottom of the foot.

 

"Huh," Zack said, looking at the claw more closely, "I hadn't noticed those."

 

Cloud chuckled, "You never do.  Details are not your skill."

 

"Thanks," Zack said sourly.  He examined the claw.  "All right.  I think that's the bear on top, then the moth in the middle, and the owl on the bottom."

 

Cloud nodded, rearranging the rings as Zack had said, "Okay, try it."

 

Zack pressed the claw back into the keyhole, and the rings began spinning until they lined up.  Then the entire carved wall sank into the floor, ancient mechanisms creaking, revealing a large natural cave beyond.  Zack heard Cloud breathe a sigh of relief at no longer being so enclosed. 

 

"Would you look at that," Zack said.

 

"Do you think this is the main burial chamber?" Cloud asked.

 

"That's my guess," Zack said.  It didn't look like there were any more undead around, so he put his sword on his back and walked forward confidently.  There was a natural stream flowing through the center of the cave, with a few ferns straining upward for the weak light from above.  On the other side of the stream was an old table, an elaborately carved wooden chest, a coffin, and what looked like an old stone wall covered in some sort of runes.

 

"This cave is definitely the kind of place I would want to have my crypt built around, if I were an ancient king." He said flippantly as he hopped across the stream.

 

He turned back to hold a hand out to Cloud to help him cross as well, and Cloud took it.  For all that he grumbled about being able to do things on his own, Cloud never refused help from Zack.  Zack pulled him upright when his foot slipped on the wet stone and grinned.

 

"All right, let's see if we can find this thing," Zack said. 

 

He approached the chest first, figuring it usually worked to start with the most obvious place first, but something about the rune-covered wall caught his eye.  He looked again, and it seemed like one of the runes was glowing... Zack moved towards the wall very carefully, ready to spring away if it was a booby trap.  As he got closer, the rune got brighter, and Zack could have sworn he heard some kind of faint chanting.  It sounded like it was coming from very far away...

 

"Do you hear that?" he asked Cloud.

 

"Hear what? ... Zack?"

 

Cloud's voice, the rest of the wall, and in fact the rest of the room seemed to fade away as the rune glowed bright blue-white, searing itself across Zack's vision.

 

Fus.  The rune said _fus_ , but what that meant and how Zack knew it was a mystery.  But he was absolutely positive of it.  "Fus," he muttered.  There was some kind of power in the word, he could tell, tickling at the back of his mind like a half-remembered thought.

 

As he spoke the word the rest of the world came back into focus and he heard a crash coming from directly behind him and Cloud's startled shriek, jerking him out of his daze.

 

He grabbed his sword off his back again and turned to see another draugr rising out of the now-open coffin.  This one must have been an important person when he was alive, because he looked to have much finer armor than the others they'd encountered, and his sword glowed faintly blue with what Zack guessed was probably a frost enchantment.

 

Cloud was already attack with his flame spell and the draugr had turned towards him, leaving its back open to attack.  Zack took his advantage, and brought his huge sword down in one mighty swing, severing its ancient spine.  It fell to the ground and laid still, finally completely dead.

 

Cloud looked up at him, breathing hard.  Zack caught his eye, and began to laugh.

 

"What's so funny?" Cloud demanded indignantly.

 

"You screamed like a little girl!" Zack howled, laughing harder.

 

"I did not!" Cloud protested, his face going bright red with embarrassed fury.

 

"Fine, fine – it was – a very _manly_ shriek," Zack choked out, laughing so hard he doubled over and braced his hands on his knees.

 

"Shut up!" Cloud said, "Anyways, what the hell were you doing?  You were just staring at that wall!  I had to scream to get your attention, it was coming right for you!"

 

Zack took a few deep breaths and straightened up, deciding to let Cloud get away with the little white lie to preserve his dignity.

 

"One of those runes was glowing," Zack said, looking back at the wall.  He was feeling deeply unsettled now that the bout of hilarity had passed.

 

"Glowing?" Cloud said, "I didn't see any glow.”

 

"It was that one," Zack said, pointing at the now completely inert rune.  Experimentally, he touched it.  Nothing happened.

 

"Do you know what the word 'fus' means?" he asked.

 

Cloud shook his head, "Not a clue."

 

Zack shrugged, "Oh well.  I guess it doesn't really matter.  Come on, let's look for the Dragonstone."

 

It wasn't in the chest, though they found a nice little pile of gold coins and a dagger with some kind of enchantment on it, but when they looked in the coffin the draugr had risen out of, they found they old, carved stone which Zack was certain was the stone they were looking for.

 

"Great!" he said happily, "Let's get out of here and go see how much of a reward we're getting."

 

"For the stone or the claw?" Cloud asked.

 

"Both," Zack said, "But either way, we've found enough loot in here to set us up at the inn for another couple of weeks at least."

 

Behind the wall with the strange runes, they found a handle which opened up a secret passage into more natural caves.  There was a breeze blowing from the caves, so they decided to try their luck getting out that was rather than backtracking through the entire Barrow.  A short while later, they came to an exit, on the side of the mountain, where the long evening shadows stretched from the trees.

 

"It's getting late," Zack said, "Do we want to try and find the way back to Whiterun tonight, or camp here and head back in the morning?  I'm not quite sure where this dumped us out.”

 

"Give me your map for a second, Zack," Cloud said, "I'm pretty sure we're west of the entrance."

 

Zack didn't bother to ask how Cloud knew.  His sense of direction was impeccable. Cloud spent a few minutes pouring over the map in the dimming evening light before pointing at a spot on it, "We're here," he declared.  “The river is down there.  Let's get back to Riverwood tonight.  No reason to camp out when we're so close to a town.  Maybe your friend Alvor will let us sleep on his floor again."

 

"There's an inn in Riverwood, too," Zack said, "Let's stay there, since we've got the money for it now."

 

Cloud nodded his agreement and handed the map back to Zack. "This way," he said, leading the way down the mountainside.

 

As it turned out, they were barely a quarter of a mile from the river, and once they found it, it was a simple hike downstream until they reached Riverwood once more.  The sun had set fully by the time they walked under the arch leading into town, but there were some lights coming from the windows of the houses.  Zack knocked on the door to the Riverwood Trader and handed the golden claw to an astonished and grateful Lucan Valerius.

 

"I never expected you'd get it back so soon!" he said.

 

"It wasn't that hard," Zack said modestly, "Besides, we were going up to the Barrows anyway."

 

"Still, it's so good to have the claw back where it belongs," he said brightly, putting it front and center on the counter of the little shop.  Zack privately felt that putting something large and covered with gold on such prominent display was pretty much daring thieves to come and take it, even if they didn't know it was a key to hidden ancient treasure, but refrained from saying so and happily accepted the fat coin purse as a reward.  The kiss on the cheek from Camilla was quite nice, too, although it made Cloud scowl fiercely.

 

They arrived at the Sleeping Giant Inn a few minutes after Lucan finally stopped thanking them for long enough that they could leave, and got a room for ten septims and a hearty dinner of potato soup, cheese, and venison, which they ate by the fire.  Zack would have been content to just sit and listen to the regulars gossip, but Delphine the innkeeper asked him about his trip to the Barrows and he couldn't help but brag.

 

"Well, we ran off the bandits that were camped up there," he said brightly, "and two of them are dead, so it should be a while before you've got a problem with them again."

 

"Hopefully it'll be a month or two," she said, "But brigands like that like to hang around abandoned places, though, so I doubt it'll be long before we get more of them."

 

"Well, if there are more the next time we come through town, let me know, and Cloud and I will run them off for you again," Zack said with a grin, "It's a rare bandit that can face us and come out ahead.”

 

Cloud snorted at him, "Braggart."

 

"It's not bragging if it's true!" Zack protested, "You and me, Cloud, we're a great team and you know it."

 

"What was the Barrow like inside?" Delphine asked, "I've always been curious, but I've never been brave enough to go into one of those ruins."

 

So Zack told her all about it, the undead and the traps and Arvel's stupid decision to run away further into the ruins, making Cloud roll his eyes when Zack couldn't help but describe exactly how he'd defeated each enemy.  But he blushed when Zack then switched to describing Cloud's solving the puzzles, especially when Zack gave overly elaborate praise to his friend's cleverness and bravery.

 

Finally, when they had finished their meal and Zack had finished the story, Delphine went off to help the other innkeeper clean up, and Zack declared it was probably time for them to get to bed.

 

"We'll get back to Whiterun tomorrow," Zack said brightly.

 

"I really wish you wouldn't make fun of me like that," Cloud said as they went to their room for the night.

 

"Who was making fun?" Zack asked, sitting on the bed and removing his boots. "Sure, I may have exaggerated a little bit, but you really are that smart and that brave.  I'm always glad to have you as my partner."

 

Cloud flushed even more and sat down on the bed, not looking at Zack, so he threw his arm across Cloud's shoulders and pulled him close for a sideways hug, "You're an amazing person, Cloud.  And one day, I'm going to make you believe it."

 

Cloud turned and hugged Zack back, squeezing him tightly, “Thank you, Zack.”

 

“Any time, Cloud.  Any time.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that I'm not exactly known for my quick updates, but I thought I should give my readers a heads up that the next chapter is probably going to be the last one that comes quickly for a while. My dad recently had a major surgery, and while he's recovering well, he'll need a lot of help and since I'm the only family member without a day job, I'll be nursing him a lot and I'll probably have less time to write. I don't intend to abandon this story, though, it's probably my favorite I've written in a long time.


	5. Dragon Rising

Chapter 5 – Dragon Rising

 

Zack woke in the grayish light of pre-dawn to Cloud twitching in his sleep. He was sweating, and his face looked drawn and pinched. Zack grabbed his shoulder and shook it gently.

 

"Cloud," he said softly, "Cloud, wake up."

 

Cloud let out a little whine, and his eyes opened, "Zack?"

 

"I'm right here. Are you all right? It looked like you were having a nightmare."

 

Cloud nodded, biting his bottom lip. Zack pulled him close and hugged him, "It's all right, Cloud," he soothed, "It was just a dream."

 

“I hate feeling so _weak_ ,” Cloud muttered, pulling away from Zack.

 

“You're not weak, Cloud, not even a little bit,” Zack reassured him, “If you were weak, do you think I could count on you to watch my back the way I do?”

 

"I know, I know, you don't think I'm weak," Cloud said with a sigh, sitting up, "I still feel that way, though."

 

"Then it seems to me that the best thing is to go out and have a lot more adventures, so you can start feeling like yourself again," Zack said brightly, sitting up and ruffling Cloud's hair. He looked out the window, "It's sunrise. Since we're both awake, what do you say we get breakfast and get on the road back to Whiterun?"

 

Cloud nodded, not speaking. Zack let his hand fall from Cloud's hair and stood up, "Come on, Cloud. We're burning daylight."

 

"It only takes three hours to walk to Whiterun, Zack."

 

"So let's go get them over with," Zack said, reaching for his boots.

 

The inn was quite still when Zack and Cloud left their room, only the innkeeper moving about as he built up the fire for the morning. He waved at them politely.

 

"Off on your way, then?" he asked, "Want some breakfast before you go?"

 

"Yeah, that would be perfect," Zack said, "what have you got?"

 

"I haven't cooked anything fresh yet this morning, but I've got some bread that came out of the oven last night and salted meat. That and a mug of mead should start your day right."

 

"That sounds great," Zack said. He didn't usually drink spirits in the morning, but Nord mead wasn't too strong and wouldn't make him drunk on a full stomach. He handed over a few coins to the innkeeper and sat down with Cloud to wait while the man got their breakfast together and brought it over.

 

"I haven't had real Nord mead in years," Cloud said, looking much happier when the mug was handed to him. He took a long drink from it. "Just as good as I remember."

 

Zack laughed and ruffled his hair. Cloud pushed his hand away, looking only mildly annoyed about it.

 

"Well, finish that, and then we'll get another one for the road," he said brightly, tearing off a chunk of his bread and putting it in his mouth. Even a day old, it still tasted good.

 

“Where's Delphine?” he asked conversationally, “She sleeping in?”

 

"She left early to go do some errands in Whiterun," the innkeeper replied.

 

"Wow, _really_ early," Zack said, "It's barely dawn."

 

"She tells me that dawn is the best time to get to the food market in Whiterun," he said with a shrug, "I think she just doesn't sleep. I'm used to it. You might see her on the road when you go, if you need to talk to her about something."

 

Zack shoved another bite of meat into his mouth. "Nah, I don't need to talk to her, I was just making conversation."

 

"Ah."

 

"It's too early for conversation, Zack," Cloud grumbled, draining his mug, "Let's get going."

 

They left Riverwood, walking with minimal conversation. The sky wasn't so foggy this morning, and they were treated to a sunrise so spectacular that Zack had to stop and admire it for a few minutes, which Cloud accepted with no complaints other than a brief grumble about how it probably would mean rain later in the day.

 

Zack didn't care. He fully intended to spend most of the day wandering around Whiterun's market, now that he actually had some money to spend in the shops, and that evening kick his feet up by the fire at the Bannered Mare. Maybe he would even ask Aerith to come spend some time with him, although he expected she would probably turn him down to keep nursing the sick and injured at the temple turned hospital.

 

There was once again a guard at the closed gate to Whiterun when they arrived.

 

"Halt," she said, sounding a little bored, "State your names and business in the city."

 

"Don't you recognize me, Tifa?" Zack asked, "I'm hurt!"

 

"Oh! Hello, Zack!" she said brightly, "Sorry, this helmet makes it a little hard for me to see."

 

"You shouldn't wear a face concealing helmet," Zack advised, "The extra protection isn't worth not being able to see out of the corners of your eyes.”

 

"You're probably right," she said, lifting the helmet off her head, "But this is what comes with the uniform and I don't really have enough clout to get away with wearing my personal equipment yet. How was your trip?"

 

"Great!" Zack said brightly, "We found what Jarl Balgruuf's wizard wanted us to retrieve, cleared out a bandit nest, killed some undead, found a little loot... the usual for a successful dungeon-delving."

 

Tifa sighed, "Shor, what I wouldn't give to be doing something like that instead of gate duty. Patrolling in town is fine, but gate duty is just so damned _boring_ most of the time."

 

Zack laughed, "Oh, hey, I wanted to ask: do you remember Cloud?" He tugged his friend up by the arm.

 

"Zack!" Cloud protested.

 

"Of course I do," Tifa said with a smile, putting a hand on her hip, "It's not every day I get argued with by someone carrying an unconscious man on his back. You're looking much better than when I first saw you. I'm glad Lady Danica and Aerith saw to your speedy recovery."

 

"Thanks," Cloud said, looking studiously down at the dirt instead of Tifa.

 

"I actually meant from before that," Zack said, "Cloud lived in Whiterun for a while when he was a boy, and he remembered you when I told him your name."

 

"Zack!" Cloud protested again.

 

"Oh," Tifa said, "I'm not sure..."

 

"We only lived in Whiterun for a couple of months," Cloud said, shooting a glare at Zack, "And I didn't really talk to many people other than my mother. I don't expect anyone to remember me from back then."

 

"What's your name?" Tifa asked, looking thoughtful.

 

"Cloud Strife," he said resignedly, probably accepting that the conversation was going to happen whether he liked it or not.

 

"Strife..." she mused, "Your name does sound familiar, now that I mention it. Did you rent a room from a Breton cook?"

 

"Um... yes," Cloud said, "Anton something, I think. He was a prissy little man."

 

"Oh, gods, wasn't he?" Tifa said with a laugh, "He finally moved away a few years ago. I think he's the cook for the Jarl of... Morthal, I think? Or Markarth, one of those two. He was certainly bragging about the job before he moved."

 

Cloud laughed, "He was a good cook, though."

 

"Yes, he was. And I do remember that he had tenants sometimes, and there was one woman with a son and he wouldn't shut up about how much he hated having 'a clumsy child who couldn't possibly appreciate his skill' in his house. That was you, right?"

 

"Probably," Cloud said, "You think he might like me better now that I'm not a kid anymore?"

 

"Oh, I doubt it," Tifa said, "We fighters are so unrefined, after all. We still couldn't appreciate his food properly."

 

Cloud grinned, "I really hated that man. He made my mother cry once. I still sometimes think I would like to break his nose."

 

"We've all known somebody like that," Tifa said, "It's good to see you again, Cloud. Now let me go ahead and let you in before I get in trouble for gossiping on the job."

 

She knocked on the gate and it swung open. Zack and Cloud went in, and Zack turned a knowing smile on Cloud. "So...?"

 

"So what?"

 

"Do I get a thank you for helping reintroduce you to your childhood crush?"

 

Cloud glared at him, "No. No you do not."

 

"What? That seemed to be going pretty well to me!"

 

"I had a crush on her when I was _eleven_ , Zack. She's basically a stranger now, and one conversation about a prissy little man we both hated isn't a good start to a romantic relationship. Why are you always trying to push women at me anyways?"

 

"I just think you need to learn how to relax," Zack said, "I've known you for ten years, and in all that time, I've never seen you interested in anyone. Tifa seemed like a good option."

 

Cloud glowered at him, "I'll tell you what, Zack. When you finally get serious with a woman and do something more than just flirt, I'll let you try to match make me again. Until then, _piss off_."

 

Zack recoiled a bit. He hadn't been expecting Cloud to be so angry about it, although it really shouldn't have come as a surprise. He'd thought getting Cloud into a conversation with an old acquaintance was harmless enough, but Cloud seemed genuinely upset.

 

"I'm sorry," he said, "I was out of line. Do you forgive me?"

 

Cloud looked at him and sighed heavily, "Of course I do. But please stop it, all right? I don't want it."

 

They headed up through the market district, passing the late morning shoppers and a couple of city guardsmen doing what Tifa had said was the less boring job. When they passed by the withered tree again, Zack picked a couple of sprigs of lavender to give to Aerith later on. Cloud didn't seem to notice.

 

"Whiterun is a nice place," Zack said conversationally, "I like the people here, and we've found decent work. What do you say we make it our base for a while?"

 

"Anywhere would work," Cloud said with a shrug. "But, yes, I like it here, too. And it's not more than about two or three days travel to most parts of Skyrim from here. Less on horseback, but it'll be a while before we can afford decent horses."

 

"Eh, who needs horses?" Zack asked. "I like walking, and if I ever get really sick of it, there are carriages."

 

"Well, it would be nice in some cases," Cloud said, "The horses in Skyrim are bred to handle rough terrain."

 

"Well, a few more jobs like this, and you might be able to afford one," Zack said brightly, "Come on, let's go see how much we're going to be paid. Race you to the top!"

 

He dashed up the stairs to Dragonsreach, taking them two at a time. He couldn't help his high spirits, even as Cloud shouted behind him, "Zack, that's childish!"

 

He reached the top and turned to see Cloud walking up the stairs at a normal pace, one at a time. He tapped his foot impatiently until Cloud reached the top as well.

 

"You're no fun," he said.

 

Cloud rolled his eyes, "Act your age, Zack."

 

"Don't feel like it," Zack said, and headed across the short bridge to the door.

 

The great hall was mostly empty, just a few people sitting down to lunch at one of the long tables. Zack recognized Proventus, the steward, and Irileth, the Jarl's bodyguard, among them, but he didn't see Farengar, so he headed for the wizard's study off the main hall. He waved to Irileth when she looked up at his passing, and got nothing but a cold stare in return. _Man, some people_ , he thought.

 

He bumped into an armored woman with a hood who was leaving the wizard's study as he arrived.

 

"Oh, sorry," he said, holding out a hand to steady her. She brushed him off and kept walking. Zack watched her go for a moment, then turned back to the study.

 

"Hello, Farengar!" he called loudly, walking in. It was mean of him, he knew, but he enjoyed seeing the wizard jump in surprise from where he was bent over a book on his desk.

 

"Ah, you're back," Farengar said, in a tone that indicated that he had not yet decided if it was a good thing or not.

 

"Is this what you were wanting us to get for you?" Cloud asked, reaching into his pack and pulling out the Dragonstone.

 

For the first time, the mage smiled, "Yes! That's it!" He reached out and took it from Cloud very gingerly, as though afraid it might shatter. "I'm impressed. I wasn't really sure you could do it. The Jarl hasn't always sent me the most competent people as help."

 

"You wizard types always assume that people who don't use magic are just stupid," Zack said.

 

"Well, magic is a mental discipline..." Farengar began, and then stopped at Zack's look. "But, no, you two definitely proved yourselves. Thank you. I might call on you again if I need something retrieved from a dangerous ruin. Go see Jarl Balgruuf, he'll give you your reward."

 

Zack gave him a mock salute and went back out into the great hall, where the Jarl was still eating his meal. The suspicious look he was getting from Irileth gave him the impression that if he were to tap the Jarl on the shoulder to get his attention, he might lose his hand, so Zack moved around the table to catch the Jarl's eye.

 

Jarl Balgruuf finally looked up at him, and his expression was pleased, "Back already? I hope that means you found the job easy, and not that you gave up."

 

"The first one," Zack said with pride, "Farengar said we should come to you for our reward?"

 

"Ah, yes, I'll get that arranged as soon as possible. In the meantime, would the two of you care to join me for lunch?" He gestured to the empty chairs on the other side of Irileth.

 

"If it's no trouble," Cloud said politely.

 

Before Zack could sit, he heard the sound of booted feet running rapidly up the wooden stairs, and a heavy panting. On of the city guards, looking very disheveled, was running towards them. Even without being able to see his face, Zack could tell the man was completely panicked.

 

He skidded to a halt in front of the Jarl, who was already rising to his feet, "What's happened?"

 

"A dragon was sighted at the Western Watchtower!" the guard gasped, clearly out of breath from his long run, "We saw it coming from the south. It was fast... faster than anything I've ever seen."

 

"What did it do?" Balgruuf asked, "Is it attacking the watchtower?"

 

"No, my lord," the guard said, "It was just circling overhead when I left. I never ran so fast in my life... I thought it would come after me for sure."

 

Balgruuf nodded, "Good work, son. We'll take it from here. Head down to the barracks for some food and rest. You've earned it. Irileth, you'd better gather some guardsmen and get down there."

 

"Tell everyone in the barracks to muster near the main gate," she said to the guard, “I'll be waiting for them there.”

 

"Yes ma'am, I will," the guard said, and turned to go.

 

Jarl Balgruuf turned to Zack, "Can I ask the two of you for your help once again?"

 

Zack nodded slowly, pretty certain he knew where this was going.

 

"Good. I want you to go with Irileth and help her fight this dragon. You two survived Helgen, which gives you more experience with dragons than anyone else in this city."

 

"I'm not sure how much help we can be," Zack said, "We pretty much just ran for our lives when the dragon attacked Helgen. But we'll try, my lord."

 

"That's all I can ask of anyone,” he said, “Go meet Irileth at the gate, and may the gods watch over you.”

 

Zack headed for the door, Cloud following closely behind him, “Zack,” he hissed, “What in all the names of all the gods did you just volunteer us to _do?!_ ” There was a note of panic in his voice that Zack wasn't used to hearing.

 

“We can handle it,” Zack whispered back, hurrying his pace.

 

“It's a _dragon_ , Zack! I'm pretty sure we _can't_. You said it yourself, last time we just for our lives!”

 

“And last time, my hands were tied – literally! I had no way to fight back, running was the only thing to do. Now I'm armed, I'm armored, and I've got one of the best shots in Tamriel to help me.” He reached the door and held it open for Cloud, “I think we've got a much better chance.”

 

“Flattering my archery skills doesn't change the fact that we're about to go fight a gods damned _dragon_ , Zack!” Cloud protested, the panicked tone of his voice now verging on downright hysteria.

 

“You don't have to join me, Cloud, but if I can help, I'm going to,” Zack said, “I'd rather go with you and have your help, but I'm not going to back out now.”

 

Cloud made a strangled noise in his throat, and reluctantly went out the open door, “How do you always get me into these things?” he asked.

 

“Because you know how lost I would be without you,” Zack said, “Come on, let's get going.”

 

~ ~ ~

 

There was an ominous plume of smoke rising from the distance when they exited the gate with Irileth and the dozen guards she had rallied.

 

"You wanted something more interesting to do?" Zack asked Tifa (or possibly a different female guard, but he was pretty sure it was Tifa) as they passed her, "Come with us!"

 

If Irileth thought anything of him recruiting the gate guard, she said nothing of it. Having more fighters against the dragon was probably more important than getting the names of travelers coming to Whiterun right now. Zack didn't bother to look and see if she had joined them, instead falling into a slow run behind Irileth, keeping pace with the dark elf's long stride.

 

Zack didn't know what condition the tower had been in before, but it certainly looked like a ruin by the time they reached it. There was no sign of the dragon, but there were smoldering patches in the grass and shrubs around the tower.

 

A guard was waving at them from the door to the tower, and Irileth ran towards him.

 

"No, get back!" he yelled, "It's still around somewhere! Hroki just got grabbed when he tried to make a run for it!"

 

"It's all right," Irileth said, in what she clearly thought was a soothing voice, "We're here to help."

 

"Kynareth save us, here it comes again!" the guard cried, pointing to the sky.

 

The dragon was flying towards them, swooping low over the ground. There was an arrow piercing one of its wings, and Zack wasn't sure how he could tell, but the dragon looked very angry.

 

"To me, and make every arrow count!" Irileth ordered.

 

"Aim for the wings, Cloud," Zack said to his friend, readying his sword, "If you can get that monster on the ground, it'll be easier to deal with."

 

Cloud nodded, his mouth set in a grim line, and knocked an arrow. Around him, the guards were all doing the same thing. At Irileth's command, they all released their arrows. Most of the shots bounced off the dragon's scales, probably not doing more than annoying it, but a few arrows pierced its wings, leaving behind small holes. The dragon roared in outrage, turned around, and breathed fire at the center of the knot of archers, forcing them to scatter.

 

The dragon swooped down on one of the isolated archers and landed on him with both front feet. If the archer wasn't dead from the talons, he was definitely killed when the dragon bit him and shook his body like a dog shaking a rabbit. Zack heard a scream of outrage from one of the men behind him, but he had no time to waste on anger. The dragon was on the ground, so he raised his sword and rushed for it.

 

His blow landed on the dragon's neck, but the scales there were so tough that it did nothing but make the dragon turn towards him, snapping its jaws. He dodged out of the way of the bite, but it was a very near miss.

 

"Hey, you ugly overgrown lizard!" he heard someone shout, "Over here!"

 

A helmet hit the dragon in the face, and it turned to look towards Tifa. It still seemed angry, but Zack thought it also looked a little confused. It had probably never had a helmet chucked at it before, but it paid for its moment of distraction when Zack took another swing and hit it where its wing met its body. The dragon let out a high-pitched shriek and took off again.

 

It circled around and breathed fire at them again, once again making the small knot of archers scatter. It seemed to be trying to head for Tifa, but it did something wrong when it tried to land, and it instead crashed, gouging a long, ditch in the dirt before it skidded to a halt and pulled itself upright again, roaring at them.

 

The dragon was clearly in bad shape. It didn't look like it could fly anymore, although Zack wasn't prepared to put money on it. It was smart enough to use advanced tactics to scatter them and pick them off, so it was probably smart enough to pretend to be more injured than it was. Either way, he needed to get to it if he were to have any kind of chance of doing damage, so Zack ran towards the dragon once again.

 

Someone, Zack wasn't sure who, fired an arrow that flew past Zack's ear and hit the dragon in the eye. The dragon shrieked and recoiled in pain, and Zack saw his chance when it reared back, exposing its belly. He stabbed his sword into the dragon's belly, where its scales were not so strong.

 

The dragon let out one final scream and went limp. Zack wrenched his sword free and got out of the way before the dragon could collapse on him.

 

He stood there in shock for a few moments. He'd killed it. They had actually killed a dragon! A slow grin spread over his face. So they weren't invincible after all! There it was, limp and still and...

 

Dissolving?

 

The dragon's flesh seemed to be flying away in little sparks of flame. Zack scrambled backwards, cursing. Did dragons _explode_ when they died, like Cloud's summoned atronachs? Great.

 

"Stay back!" he shouted to everyone as he tried to get away.

 

The dragon's body quickly disappeared in a ball of flame, and a strange light flowed from the skeleton the fireball left behind, and into Zack. He was reminded of the wall of runes in Bleak Falls Barrow, and he remembered the rune that had glowed. Fus. No sooner had he thought the word than understanding struck him. Force. It meant _force_ , in the dragon language.

 

"How...?" he muttered. How could he possibly know that?

 

He turned around, looking at the stunned faces of the guards and Cloud, fairly certain that his own expression was just as stunned and confused as theirs. What in hell had just happened to him? He felt alright – maybe slightly toasty from the fire the dragon had been blowing everywhere, but more or less like himself...

 

Cloud stepped forward, coming up to Zack with a look of absolute wonder on his face, as though he'd never seen him before.

 

"What?" Zack asked.

 

"I don't believe it," Cloud said, "Zack, you're... Dragonborn! That must be it!"

 

"And that means... what, exactly?" Zack asked. He wasn't sure at all that he liked it if it made Cloud look at him that way.

 

"You absorbed its soul!" Cloud gasped, wonder giving way to excitement.

 

"I... did?" Zack asked. Well, he had absorbed _some_ kind of power from it, but he didn't think people could absorb souls into themselves. Didn't you need a soul gem to trap a soul?

 

"That has to be it!" Cloud said, childlike excitement written all over his face, "Only the Dragonborn can do that! Try to Shout, that'll prove it."

 

"Shout?" Zack echoed.

 

"Speak in the dragon language," Cloud clarified, "Only the Dragonborn can do it without months and years of training. Just try, then we'll know for sure!"

 

Zack looked back at the others, who were all nodding in agreement.

 

"Yes, try!" one of them said.

 

Well, he did know one word in the dragon language, and the way it had come into his head entirely unbidden was strange. Maybe it could be explained by this "Dragonborn" business. Hopefully he wouldn't look like too much of an idiot if this didn't work. He took a deep breath.

 

" _Fus_ ," he shouted, and the word seemed to change as it left his lips, taking on a strange power and pulling all of the air out of his lungs when it went.

 

Cloud fell backwards as the force pushed him, and the other guards behind him stumbled.

 

"I'm sorry!" Zack apologized quickly to Cloud, "Are you okay?" He reached a hand down to help his friend up, and Cloud grabbed it, laughing as he stood.

 

"I'm great!" Cloud said, "Zack, this is amazing! You're a living legend!"

 

"I'm... not?" Zack said, still not entirely certain what was going on.

 

"Well, _I_ don't care if you're Dragonborn or not," Irileth said sharply, making him jump, "What I care about is that the dragons are real, and they can be killed. You should report back to Jarl Balgruuf, tell him what's happened here."

 

"Uh... all right," Zack said. He actually found Irileth's response a bit of a relief. He'd always wanted to be a hero, yes, but a living legend might be a bit much.

 

"Well, I don't know about this Dragonborn business," Irileth said, her voice finally softening a bit, "But for what it's worth, I'm glad you're on our side."

 

~ ~ ~

 

Cloud seemed to understand that Zack was in no position to speak as they began their trek back to Whiterun. He was silent, giving Zack time to absorb what had happened. The shortness of breath that came from using the shout faded quickly, and Zack wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to try it again. It was a strange feeling, knowing that something as simple as one word could have so much power, and that he could use it.

 

"What exactly is a Dragonborn?" Zack asked, "And if I'm one, what does that mean?"

 

"According to the old stories, the Dragonborn is a mortal with the blood of dragons flowing through their veins," Cloud said, "He or she can kill dragons and steal their power. As for what it means... well, I don't know, but I don't believe it's a coincidence for you to have this power when we've just seen the first dragons in Skyrim in an age."

 

"Ugh," Zack said, "Looks like I may have just put my foot in a big steaming pile of destiny."

 

Cloud laughed, "Hey, that isn't so bad – people with destinies are at least never -"

 

He was cut off by a noise booming from the sky like thunder. It was so loud the ground shook, making Zack reach for Cloud to catch himself.

 

"DOVAHKIIN!"

 

Then there was nothing but the stillness of the plains once again. Zack looked at Cloud, "What in Mara's name was that?"

 

"I don't know," Cloud said, sounding a little shaken, "But I think it was for you."

 

"What makes you think that?"

 

"Dovahkiin," Cloud said, "It's another name for the Dragonborn."

 

"Then who said it?" Zack asked, feeling a small amount of panic rise as he grabbed his sword – not that it would do him any good against deafening disembodied voices coming from the sky.

 

Cloud tugged on his arm, "Come on, let's hurry back. Jarl Balgruuf will probably have some idea what to do."

 

Zack wondered if Balgruuf really would know anything, or if Cloud was just hoping that the one authority figure they knew could tell them what to do. Cloud was always more comfortable when he had clear instructions to follow, and a definite sense of what he was supposed to be doing.

 

The gate was slightly open when they reached Whiterun, apparently no one had replaced Tifa yet, so Zack and Cloud slipped inside and headed up in the direction of Dragonsreach. There was a certain tension in the air, visible in the people who weren't milling about as usual, but instead huddled in small knots and talking in hushed voices. Even the priest of Talos wasn't yelling his sermon in the square like usual, but instead was talking quietly with a man in leather armor. Zack had the distinct impression that their eyes were following him as he and Cloud headed towards Dragonsreach, although it might have been paranoia. He felt different, and he wondered if it showed on his skin.

 

The Jarl was sitting on his throne at the end on the Great Hall when they reached him, his entire body tense.

 

"So, what happened at the watchtower?" Balgruuf asked, rising from his seat, "Was the dragon there?"

 

"Yes," Zack said, "By the time we got there, the watchtower had been mostly destroyed, but between all of us, we managed to kill the dragon."

 

"Thank the gods!" Balgruuf gasped, collapsing back onto his seat with clear relief, "What happened?"

 

"We'd managed to down it, and when I got it in the eye with an arrow, it exposed its belly," Cloud piped up excitedly, "Zack struck the killing blow, and when he killed it, the dragon – he absorbed power from it. Zack is Dragonborn!"

 

"Maybe," Zack cut in quickly, "I don't know for sure."

 

The jarl smiled wanly, "Well, the Greybeards think so. I'm sure you heard them calling 'Dovahkiin'."

 

"It was kind of hard to miss," Zack said, "But who are the Greybeards?"

 

"They are masters of the Way of the Voice," Balgruuf said. "They live high on the slopes of the Throat of the World. They study the tongue of dragons, and the ability to focus your vital essence into a Thu'um - a Shout. I studied with them many years ago, before I became Jarl. It is a tradition for Skyrim's leaders to study with the Greybeards. It was with a Shout that Ulfric Stormcloak killed High King Torygg, and started the civil war."

 

Zack waved off the history lesson, "But what do they want with me?"

 

"I don't know, but if they have invited you to High Hrothgar, you must go. It is not an invitation I would ignore. If you truly are Dragonborn – and I think you must be, otherwise I doubt they would have called for you – then they will teach you everything you need to know."

 

"But I -" Zack protested.

 

"Zack, we really should go," Cloud said.

 

Zack pinched the bridge of his nose, "All right, all right, I'll go. But are the Greybeards going to be offended if we take some time to rest and get supplies for a trip, or am I expected to run up a mountain while I've still got dragon guts on my hand?"

 

"Zack!" Cloud sounded positively scandalized, but Zack wasn't in the mood to respect Nord mysticism at the moment.

 

"And we still haven't gotten our pay for helping Farengar yet," Zack added.

 

"I owe you for far more than just helping Farengar by now," the Jarl said, "In light of your help in slaying the dragon, and from what I can see of your excellent character, I am going to appoint you a Thane of Whiterun."

 

Zack had no idea what a Thane was, but it made Cloud gasp sharply in a way that sounded very appreciative.

 

"What's a Thane?" he muttered to Cloud.

 

"He's just appointed you a lord, Zack," Cloud said.

 

"That is more or less correct," Balgruuf said with a smile, "As a Thane, you'll have the right to most anything in Dragonsreach, provided it belongs to the castle and not one of its residents, and respect from the citizens of Whiterun - though you seemed to have earned that already on your own merits. I'll assign you a housecarl from the ranks of the town guards -"

 

"A personal servant who's also trained in combat." Cloud explained quickly when Zack glanced at him again.

 

Jarl Balgruuf nodded, "And if you wish to purchase property in the city, I'll make sure Proventus knows that you have my full approval."

 

"Well, that is nice," Zack said.

 

"I'll have to pick one of the guards to be your housecarl," Balgruuf said, "I'll get that arranged while you're off to the Throat of the World. Lydia, maybe, or Tor..."

 

"Can I request someone specific?" Zack asked.

 

Balgruuf raised an eyebrow, "Well, if he agrees to it. Who did you have in mind?"

 

Zack smiled, "Tifa Lockhart."

 

"Tifa? Really?" Balgruuf seemed surprised, "She's a good fighter, but she's been a guard for barely two months... I don't know if promoting her at this time would be fair to the others. Why do you want her, specifically?"

 

"'Cause she's a friend, she's brave, and she's good in a fight," Zack said, "She thinks on her feet, and if she hadn't distracted the dragon long enough for me to get a good hit on its wing, we might not have gotten it down so quickly."

 

Jarl Balgruuf nodded in approval, "I can respect those reasons. If you'd said anything about her looks, I would have said no. Your housecarl is a servant and shield-sister, not a camp follower."

 

"The thought honestly never crossed my mind," Zack said.

 

"I'll ask her if she wants the job. If she says yes, then I will appoint her as your housecarl.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So nearly a year later, I post the next chapter. Holy shit it's been a crazy, stressful year. I hope someone is still interested in this silly story.


	6. The Seven Thousand Steps

Chapter 6 – The Seven Thousand Steps

 

By the time the Jarl had finished explaining the ins and outs of being a Thane to him and marked the path to the Greybeards' sanctuary of High Hrothgar out on his map it was late afternoon, and Zack deemed it far too late in the day to start an expedition to the top of the highest mountain in Skyrim. He was still in a bit of a sour mood, what with everything that had happened so suddenly to him. He had never much cared for the idea of destiny. He preferred to think that people became great or not by their own labors, not because of some strange, mysterious force that picked people out.

 

"I'm sorry, Cloud," he said when they finally got back to the Bannered Mare, "I've been being really flippant about all of this and I know it's important to you."

 

Cloud waved off his apology, “It's a lot to take in. I understand that.”

 

"It's just so strange," Zack said, "I was a normal man when I woke up this morning, and now I'm... well, not."

 

"You were never just a normal person, Zack," Cloud said, "You were Dragonborn from the beginning. It doesn't matter if you're only finding out about it now."

 

"Look, can we just... talk about something else for a bit?" Zack asked.

 

"All right, Zack, we can talk about something else," Cloud said. He raised his mug up to his lips and smirked at Zack over the brim, "Are you going to tell Aerith about your new station? Thane is a pretty impressive title. She might not be so far above you, now."

 

"I - " Zack started.

 

"You like her, I can tell," Cloud said, "I think she could be good for you."

 

"Is this revenge for me pushing you into talking with Tifa?" Zack asked.

 

"Need something, my thane?" A voice spoke from behind him, making Zack jump and spill his drink on the table.

 

He whirled around to face Tifa, in steel armor that looked a little worn, but not yet shabby. "Tifa!"

 

"The jarl told me you requested me as your housecarl," she said brightly, "I accept. Thank you so much for your confidence in me."

 

"Well, once Cloud explained to me what a housecarl was, I knew you'd be a good one," Zack said, managing to give her a small smile.

 

She positively beamed at him, "My father is going to be so thrilled with me. From city guard to housecarl for the Dragonborn – you are the Dragonborn, aren't you?"

 

"So they've been telling me," Zack said, his good mood fading a bit, "I'm not sure I want to be."

 

Tifa gave him a skeptical look, "Oh, yes, because slaying dragons and shouting with no training is just that awful."

 

"No, that part is pretty awesome, I'm not going to say otherwise, but I just -"

 

"Zack hates the idea of destiny," Cloud cut in, "And I understand that. Because if destiny is real, that means all the torment we went through was something the gods decided  _ should _ happen to us, and who wants to think that?"

 

Tifa nodded, "Yeah, I get it. But still... It's an honor to be working with you."

 

“Thanks,” Zack said briefly.

 

"So, what are you going to do?" Tifa asked.

 

"Apparently I'm climbing a huge mountain," Zack said with a shrug, "Who knew?"

 

"Cheer up, Zack," Cloud said, patting him on the back, "I think this Dragonborn thing is going to turn out to be great."

 

Zack gave him a look ad Cloud smiled, "If nothing else, it should at least mean we can find work easily."

 

Zack laughed, "Yeah, I suppose so."

 

He got to his feet, "I'm going to leave you two old friends to catch up for a while. I want to go talk to Aerith."

 

Cloud smiled encouragingly at him, "You go do that, Zack."

 

As he left, Zack heard Tifa say, "I wondered if they were sweet on each other – Aerith talked about him while she was healing me the other day."

 

Zack smiled genuinely, his spirits lifting for the first time since Cloud had called him Dragonborn, and headed for the temple.

 

Just entering the temple and seeing Aerith had Zack feeling quite a bit calmer. She greeted him warmly and had him help her prepare bandages, and they talked easily, though Zack didn't mention the Dragonborn thing to her. He barely mentioned the dragon, or being made a thane (which she had already heard about – apparently the town gossip in Whiterun spread very quickly.)

 

"So, I heard that you asked for Tifa to be your housecarl," she said.

 

"I thought she was a good choice," Zack said.

 

"Oh, she most certainly is," Aerith said with a laugh, "She's smart, loyal, and a scrappy fighter. You'll probably want to get someone else to manage your estate, though."

 

"What estate?" Zack asked, "I'm still living in the inn. I don't even have a proper room to rent, let alone an  _ estate _ ."

 

"Oh, give it time," Aerith said, "I doubt the Jarl will let his newest thane be homeless for very long. There's a nice house for sale down by the gate. I'd bet you twenty Septims that you'll own it before a month is out."

 

“He said I'm allowed to purchase property in the city,” Zack said, “But I'd still have to buy it and I don't have nearly enough gold for a house, I'm sure.”

 

"Well, how much gold do you have?" Aerith asked.

 

"About six hundred Septims," Zack said, "Cloud's got about the same, although I think he's planning to spend most of it today on a good bow and other supplies. But even between the two of us, we wouldn't have enough for a house. Plenty for renting a room or staying at inns, but not enough to get our own house."

 

"I bet that if you asked the steward, he would let you make a down payment on a place and pay the rest as you get it. Given that owning property in the Hold is usually a  _ requirement _ to be appointed a thane, the Jarl would probably be pleased to accept that deal. He must be very grateful to you."

 

"Well, I did kill a dragon for him," Zack said with a sly smile.

 

"That would do it," Aerith smiled back, "When are you leaving for High Hrothgar?"

 

"How did you know about that?" Zack demanded, shocked.

 

"I heard the Greybeards calling Dovahkiin," Aerith said, "And  _ you  _ killed one of the first dragons seen in Skyrim for an age. It wasn't too hard to put it together and figure out who they think the Dovahkiin is."

 

"I... don't know if I really am or not," Zack said, "And if I am, I don't want to be."

 

"No one really wants to be different, Zack," Aerith said softly, saying her slim hand on his arm, "I don't want to be mixed-blood. And I certainly don't want to have heritage that I can trace back to the Ayleids. But I am, and I do, and that's not something I change by wanting it different. So I keep moving forward and live my life the way I see as right."

 

"You're... Ayleid?" Zack asked.

 

Aerith shook her head, "No, I'm mostly Altmer. But yes, my mother's grandfather was one of the last known full-blooded Ayleids. It's not something that we're proud of. I don't spread it around."

 

"So why tell me?" Zack asked.

 

"Because I trust you not to tell, and I thought you needed to hear it," Aerith touched his cheek, "Zack, good or bad, this is what you are and it can't be changed. But it doesn't have to change  _ you. _ _ You _ are still Zack Fair, and you are a brave, loyal, and good man. So you keep on being brave, loyal and good. Everything else... well, it'll fall into place in its time."

 

~~~

 

The trip to Ivarstead, the town at the foot of the mountain known as The Throat of the World, was long and mostly uneventful. Cloud could tell that Zack was feeling much better about the fact that he was Dragonborn today. He was smiling and joking like usual and if that wasn't enough to show he was feeling better, the way he was experimenting with Shouting certainly was.

 

"I'm wondering just how strong this really is," Zack said brightly, "Like, can I make it stronger? The word means 'force', so how do I put more force behind it?"

 

"I don't know," Cloud said, "Hey, you think you can hit that hawk up there?" He pointed out the bird in flight.

 

Zack looked up at it, "Maybe. I'll try.  _ Fus _ !"

 

Cloud felt the wind from the Shout rush past him, up to the sky, but the hawk kept flying.

 

"Damn," Zack panted, out of breath after Shouting, "I missed it."

 

Cloud shrugged, "Oh well. Not like they're good to eat or anything."

 

"I've got to work on my aim," Zack said, breathing deeply, "Hang on, I think I'm almost ready to try again."

 

Cloud looked up the road. There were a pair of old stone towers on either side of the river, at each end of a narrow bridge. There appeared to be a few people by the base of the tower on their side of the river, and Cloud shook his head.

 

"I'd save it if I were you. That looks like it might be trouble up ahead."

 

The people there might have been harmless travelers or adventurers like themselves, but it looked like a prime ambush spot for highwaymen. He and Zack were heavily armed enough that usually would-be robbers left them alone, but better safe than sorry, for certain.

 

Zack followed Cloud's gaze and nodded, “Right. Keep your hand on your weapon.”

 

As they drew near the tower, Cloud saw a woman in steel plate armor come out, her sword drawn. Zack sighed.

 

"Highwaymen, lovely," he said, "I'm kind of in a rush, you know!" he called to the woman.

 

"So pay the toll and you can get on you way," she said, "Hundred gold, and you walk through unscathed."

 

"How about  _ you _ walk back into your tower," Zack said, pulling his sword off his back, "And I won't send the guards out here until tomorrow – should be long enough for you all to clear out and find a new place to go."

 

The woman eyed the sword, and arched her eyebrow imperiously, "A big sword doesn't intimidate me."

 

Zack smirked, "Then, lady, you might just be the woman for me."

 

She sneered, "Last chance, traveler, pay up!"

 

"No," Zack said, shifting into a ready stance.

 

She charged, and Zack Shouted. Unlike the hawk, he didn't miss the woman, and he'd aimed low so her feet went out from under her, and she went sprawling, face first, into the dirt. She slid down the hill a few feet, coming to a stop in from of Zack.

 

"I would advise you run away," Cloud said. He didn't want her to hear Zack out of breath from Shouting. "Or, if you really want to fight, you'll have to deal with an expert swordsman who can also use the Thu'um."

 

Her eyes widened, and she got shakily to her feet.

 

"Leave your sword where it is," Cloud ordered, "You can come back and get it when we've gone."

 

With a look of pure rage, the highwayman backed up, gesturing for her comrades to come with her. They retreated into the tower, and Zack and Cloud were able to pass it.

 

"We'll be sending guards just as soon as we reach Ivarstead," Zack said, "So I would recommend clearing out of here before they come."

 

"Everyone has to make a living, Imperial," the woman said.

 

"And Cloud and I make ours by hunting down people like you," Zack said, "But we're in a hurry, and I don't have time to deal with three small time bandits at a bridge. Consider yourselves lucky."

 

Cloud kept a wary eye out behind them for the next hour of walking, but it didn't seem that the bandits were following them. The intimidation tactics had done the trick. Shouting was a good addition to their bluffing skills.

 

“I'm thinking there are some definite advantages to this Dragonborn business after all,” Zack said happily when they paused for a rest the next bridge, one not presided over by bandits.

 

“I'm glad. You seemed so unhappy about it yesterday,” Cloud said.

 

“It was kind of a lot to take in all at once, you know?” Zack said, “But I'm better now. It's not something I can change, so better to figure out how to work with it. And boy did I ever work with it back there! Did you see her face when she went over?”

 

“That was a little risky,” Cloud said, “I mean, waiting until she charged you like that.”

 

“But it worked!” Zack said brightly, “And hey, maybe those three will rethink their lives.”

 

Cloud snorted, “If you think they're going to donate all their ill-gotten gains to the temple of Mara...”

 

Zack shrugged, “Yeah, probably not, but they might.”

 

Cloud laughed, took a long drink from his water skin, and got to his feet, “Let's keep going. We should be able to reach Ivarstead by nightfall.”

 

He gave Zack a hand up and grinned at him, “And, yeah. It  _ was _ a good move.”

 

~ ~ ~

 

Ivarstead was a small settlement. A cluster of old shabby houses, a lumber mill, and an inn were all that made up the little town. Apparently they were unused to strangers in town, because almost everyone they passed turned to look at Zack and Cloud. Zack handled it with his usual panache, smiling and waving at people, and when someone finally approached him, he asked about the mountain and the path up it.

 

"Going on a pilgrimage?" the girl asked, looking excited.

 

"Yes," Cloud said simply, "We're going to climb the seven thousand steps."

 

"I've always  fancied a journey up the seven thousand Steps to the monastery. Anything to break the boredom of living in this town. I envy you.  "

 

"Is it that bad here?" Zack asked.

 

"It's not  _ bad, _ it's just dreadfully dull. I'm from a much larger town; Ivarstead has so little to do in comparison. The only gossip to listen to centers around about four people, and there are no shops."

 

It was getting on towards evening, and though Cloud wanted to continue on up the mountain that night, Zack put his foot down. Skyrim was cold at night, and cold up in the mountains, and he had no desire to experience both at the same time. They got a room to share again, and Zack was pleased with himself for picking a warm best friend to take with him to Skyrim. It had been a very wise decision.

 

"I miss Leyawiin," he said, huddling under the thin blanket and pulling Cloud's warm body closer to him.

 

"Ugh," Cloud said expressively, "It was muggy and hot and always smelled bad. If it wasn't the swamp, it was the Khajiit cooking..."

 

"Yeah, well I think Skyrim is cold and smells weird, so there."

 

They argued good naturedly about the pros and cons of Leyawiin versus Skyrim until they drifted off to sleep. The next morning dawned clear and cold, so Zack lingered over breakfast, hoping to give the sun time to warm the day a bit before they went. He managed to delay until nearly ten o clock before Cloud finally dragged him away from the hearth and back on the road to High Hrothgar.

 

"So, are there really seven thousand steps?" Zack asked.

 

"There were when it was built," Cloud said, "But centuries of pilgrims may have worn them down a bit."

 

"Remind me to actually count them on the way back down," Zack said.

 

"You won't," Cloud said confidently, "You'll get distracted before you count the first thousand."

 

"Only if we get into a fight or something," Zack said, "Do you think we will?

 

"Well, the man at the inn said that there's wildlife along the trail. Some wolves and such, but it shouldn't be anything too serious."

 

Sure enough, they didn't run into anything on the path. They saw a few goats and a fox, and heard wolves howling in the distance. High up the winding trail, they saw evidence of a frost troll about, but fortunately didn't see the troll itself, and they didn't stick around to look for it. Trolls were to be avoided unless you went into a fight specifically prepared to deal with them.

 

The monastery was a large, imposing stone building. Zack had to stop and stare at it for a few moments when he saw it.

 

So, did he just walk right in? He had been invited, after all. He climbed the last few steps up to the door and took a deep breath, glancing sideways at Cloud, who was looking nervous and excited.

 

“Well, here goes nothing,” Zack said, and pushed the door open.

 

Inside, the building was cool – a few braziers provided light and heat, but it certainly wasn't anywhere close to cozy. It was still much warmer than outside, though, so Zack shut the door behind Cloud and stepped out of the entrance way. It was very dim compared to the brilliant sunlit snow outside, so Zack stood there blinking for a few second, waiting for his eyes to adjust, when he saw someone approaching them from the back of the building.

 

He was dressed in gray robes, and had a long beard in which he had tied a knot, which Zack thought was a little bit odd looking. What little Zack could see of his face was lined and aged.

 

"So... a Dragonborn appears, at this moment of the turning of the age," he said. There was a question in his voice and he looked between Zack and Cloud, obviously trying to gauge which of them was the Dragonborn.

 

Zack took a step forward, "You say I'm Dragonborn. What does that mean?"

 

"In time," the greybeard said, "We will see if you truly have the gift. Show us, Dragonborn. Let us taste of your voice."

 

Zack resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the overly dramatic phrasing. Apparently living in isolation on a mountain top made people forget how to speak normally. Cloud, predictably, seemed enthralled. He nudged Zack forward as another four men in gray robes gathered in the room.

 

Zack took a deep breath, and shouted. “ _ Fus! _ ”

 

The men in front of him staggered, but recovered themselves quickly. The man who had spoken to him smiled.

 

“It is you. Welcome to High Hrothgar. I am Master Arngeir, I speak for the Greybeards. Now tell me, Dragonborn, why have you come here?”

 

Zack raised an eyebrow, “You summoned me here. I was told in no uncertain terms that I couldn't refuse.”

 

Zack noticed one of the other Greybeards chuckle at his response. That one seemed younger – his face was clean shaven and unwrinkled and his robes had no hood. Perhaps he was an acolyte.

 

“Allow me to rephrase, then,” Arngeir said, a touch of humor in his voice, “What did you hope we would do for you when you came in response to our summons?”

 

“I... well, I guess I wanted to find out what all this Dragonborn stuff is about,” Zack said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, “I mean, everyone acts like it's a huge important thing, but no one can really tell me what it _is_.”

 

Arngeir nodded, “We are here to guide you in that pursuit, just as the Greybeards have sought to guide those of the Dragon Blood who came before you.”

 

“So I'm not the only one?” Zack asked, seeking confirmation.

 

“No, you are not the first. There have been many of the Dragon Blood since Akatosh first bestowed that gift upon mortals. Whether you are the only Dragonborn of this age...” he trailed off, glancing at the other Greybeards, “That is not yet ours to know. You are the only one that has been revealed thus far.”

 

Zack looked at the other Greybeards again, “All right. So... where do we start?”

 

Arngeir nodded in approval, “You have shown that you are Dragonborn. Without training, you have already taken the first steps into projecting your voice into a Thu'um – a Shout. Now let us see if you are willing, and able, to learn more.”

 

“I'm a blank slate,” Zack said, spreading his hands, “Teach me.”

 

“Very well,” Arngeir said, “Let us begin.”

 

~ ~ ~ 

 

Cloud leaned against a wall to watch Zack's training. The Greybeards seemed to have completely forgotten his presence, which would normally rankle him, but he was too excited by the prospect of seeing more of Zack's power to care very much. He did wish there were some benches or something in here, the long climb up the seven thousand steps had been tiring, and he wanted to get off his feet.

 

“Each Shout is comprised of three words of power,” Arngeir began the lesson, “Each subsequent word gives the shout more power. _Fus_ is the first word of Unrelenting Force. Master Einarth shall now teach you the second.”

 

Cloud leaned forward, excited to watch. The first word by itself was powerful, what would the masters' Shouts be like? He grinned eagerly, and Master Arngeir finally took notice of him, glancing in Cloud's direction. A moment later, a hand touched his shoulder and Cloud jumped in surprise. He turned to see the other man in Greybeards' robes, the one who was clean-shaven.

 

"You should come with me," he said, "The masters' Thu'um is very powerful. You might be injured if you stay here while they test the Dovahkiin."

 

Cloud frowned, "I want to watch!" Didn't he already deal with a risk of injury by staying with Zack at all? Adventuring was hardly a safe career, after all.

 

"You'll be able to hear from the wings of the building," the man said, "And when they move the training outside, you can join him again. But there's not really anywhere out of the line of fire in this chamber."

 

"It's all right," Zack said, "I'll show you everything I learn later, I promise."

 

Cloud wanted to protest, but he relented. They probably wouldn't even start while he was there. He wondered if it was really for his safety or if they just didn't want him to see the extent of their power. "All right," he said sadly.

 

The man led him down a dimly lit hall to an area with a few simple beds. He sat on one of them, and gestured for Cloud to sit on another.

 

"I'm very curious about the Dragonborn," the man said, "Will you tell me about him?"

 

"If you'll answer some questions for me, too," Cloud offered.

 

"That seems fair. I can't reveal any secrets of my order, but if you want, I can tell you all of the basic things."

 

"Basic, huh? Alright, then... what's your name?" Cloud asked.

 

The man looked taken about for a moment – obviously he had been expecting a different question – and then his mouth curled into a slight smile. "Sephiroth. And yours?"

  
“Cloud.”

 

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Cloud," Sephiroth said, "So tell me, how did you come to be traveling with the Dragonborn?"

 

"We've been friends for years," Cloud said, "Ever since my mother and I moved to Leyawiin. Zack was born there. We've been traveling adventurers since I was fifteen."

 

"Interesting," Sephiroth said, "What's that like?"

 

"A whole lot of near-misses," Cloud laughed, "He saved my life in the first week after we left Leyawiin. And then I saved his life a month later, and then he saved me again, and I saved him again at least twice, but he argues about the second time. We don't really keep count anymore."

 

"Is it good to have a companion for adventures?" Sephiroth asked curiously, "I did some traveling when I was younger, but I was always alone. I... wouldn't have appreciated the company back then."

 

"It's great," Cloud said, "And a lot safer, too. Some people who explore and bounty hunt prefer to do so alone so that they don't have to share their profits, but I've always thought that's stupid. I'm still making a decent amount of money, I'm not lonely, and I've got Zack to carry me out of a ruin if I can't walk by myself."

 

"Does that happen frequently?" Sephiroth asked.

 

Cloud sobered, "Only once so far. But it was – it was pretty bad."

 

"What happened?" Sephiroth asked. "Or would you rather not speak about it?"

 

Cloud took a deep, steadying breath. He didn't want to talk about his time in Hojo's care – except for how, at times, he really did. It had been difficult to speak to Aerith about even the basic things she needed to know to help heal him, and Zack – well, Zack had been there, obviously. Cloud saw no reason to start a conversation with "So remember that time Hojo poisoned me with an infusion of taproot and nightshade and laughed when I gagged on it?" It would just cause them both more pain. But sometimes... sometimes it felt like the story was trying to slip out of his mouth anyways, in every painful, excruciating detail. It might relieve the pressure he felt in his gut every time he thought about Hojo, and Rielle, and the tortures he had endured there.

 

"I've offended you," Sephiroth said, "I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention."

 

"No," Cloud said, "I'm not offended... it's just difficult to talk about."

 

"There was a mage," Cloud said, "He used me and Zack to experiment on... we were trapped in an Ayleid ruin with him for – for a long time. Zack got us both out. He probably could have escaped much sooner on his own, but he wouldn't leave me behind."

 

"He's an honorable man," Sephiroth said.

 

Cloud nodded, "Very. Almost to the point of being stupid."

 

"No, that's a good thing," Sephiroth said quickly, "I would hate to see the power of the Dragonborn in the hands of someone who isn't honorable. Power is easy to abuse."

 

"I guess so," Cloud said, "I mean, I can't think of someone I would've preferred to have the power, and I can think of a lot of people who I really  _ don't _ want to see with it."

 

Sephiroth nodded in agreement, "Myself included."

 

Cloud looked up at him, "You?"

 

"I was... not in my right mind when I first came to High Hrothgar. I fought in the Great War, and by the end of it... I was more animal than man," he gestured at the stone walls, "I found peace and a sanctuary here. The masters have been very kind to me."

 

"You fought in the Great War?" Cloud asked, "But you don't look much older than me!"

 

"I'll be forty-five in two months," Sephiroth said.

 

"You... fought in the Great War as a fourteen year old?" Cloud asked incredulously. The legion didn't allow anyone under the age of sixteen to enlist. Granted, there had certainly been underage soldiers slipping through the cracks, especially towards the end of the war, when the empire had been getting desperate, but still...

 

"And younger," Sephiroth said, "I was made a mercenary. My father kept the money and sold my services as a warrior to whichever side paid him more."

 

"That's awful," Cloud said, and reached over to pat Sephiroth's knee.

 

"Thank you for your sympathy," Sephiroth said. Cloud thought it should have been sarcastic, but it wasn't remotely so.

 

"So you came to the Greybeards for peace and healing?" Cloud asked.

 

"It took me a few years to find my way here, but yes," Sephiroth acknowledged, "That's essentially it."

 

"I can see why this would appeal to you after that," Cloud said, "So you... joined them? You're wearing their robes."

 

"Yes."

 

"Um..." Cloud started, hesitated, and then decided to ask the question he'd been wondering since Sephiroth had taken him out of the main room, "If you're a greybeard, why don't you have a beard?"

 

Sephiroth blinked at him, obviously taken aback.

 

"Sorry, I know that's a stupid question, I was just curious."

 

"I'm only an acolyte, so I'm not required to have a beard," Sephiroth said. With a smile, he added, "Which is a good thing, because I can barely grow any whiskers to speak of."

 

Cloud laughed, “I'm the same way. I mean, I do grow whiskers, but they're so light you can't really see them unless I let my beard get long, and I don't.”

 

Cloud wanted to giggle at the absurdity of it. How had he gone from speaking seriously about what he had suffered at Hojo's hands to talking about beards with a Greybeard acolyte? Maybe he wasn't really ready to talk about it yet, but it did make him feel a little better that Sephiroth hadn't reacted with pity, instead trusting him enough to talk about something bad that had happened to him.

 

"So, I guess you don't get a lot of visitors up here," Cloud said, steering the conversation to more lighthearted topics.

 

"Occasional pilgrims, but you are the first I've had a real conversation with in over a year."

 

"I'm honored," Cloud said brightly, and tilted his head slightly at a noise down the hall, "What was that?"

 

"They can't be going outside already," Sephiroth said, "It hasn't been ten minutes since they started training the Dragonborn!"

 

"Well, he  _ is _ the Dragonborn," Cloud said, proud of his friend.

 

"But they wouldn't be taking him outside unless it was to teach him  _ Wuld _ or  _ Lok. _ He can't possibly have mastered Unrelenting Force already."

 

"Well, why not?" Cloud asked.

 

Sephiroth stood up, "I... knew the Dragonborn was gifted, but this is amazing."

 

"So, can I go watch him train  _ now _ ?" Cloud asked eagerly.

 

"I did say you could..." Sephiroth said vaguely, still shocked. He shook himself and offered a hand to Cloud, "Very well. Shall we, Dovahkiin Fahdoni?"

 

Cloud took his hand and got to his feet as well, “Yes, please! And what does that mean?”

 

~ ~ ~

 

" _ Wuld! _ " Zack shouted, taking a step forward and finding himself propelled forward much faster and with much less control than he had expected. He got through the gate before it closed, just like he was supposed to do to practice this new word, but he very nearly went face-first into the wrought iron gate instead of through it.

 

"Very good, Dragonborn," Arngeir praised him, "That was well done.”

 

"I think I nearly threw myself off the mountain," Zack protested, gasping for breath in the aftereffects of the Shout.

 

"Had you succeed in that endeavor, we would have caught you," Arngeir said with a smile, "But please don't try it just to make us save you. We might get annoyed."

 

"I don't make a habit of throwing myself off high places," Zack said. "So you've got nothing to worry about.”

 

He heard the sound of the door opening and saw Cloud and the acolyte exiting the building, and waved at them excitedly. He understood why they worried about Cloud getting hurt, but he wanted to show off his new skills to his friend.

 

"Hey, Cloud!" he called, "Watch this!  _ Wuld _ !"

 

He rushed towards them, much faster than he could run naturally, and narrowly avoided colliding with Cloud when the effects of the Shout stopped. As it was, he ended up spraying snow all over both of them as he skidded to a halt.

 

"Woah! Sorry, this one's a little hard to control," Zack said. He brushed the snow off of Cloud's armor, "Gotta figure out how to aim myself right when I use it."

 

"Truly astonishing," said the unbearded acolyte. He definitely sounded younger than the other Greybeards, his voice was deep and smooth, with none of the rasp of age and a slight accent that sounded like it came from Skingrad, or somewhere in that area.

 

Zack looked over at him, "What is?"

 

"The ease with which you learn the Thu'um," the acolyte said, "I have been here for seven years, and in that time I have completely mastered four Shouts and part of two more. Grandmaster Paarthurnax has called me a prodigy. Yet I've watched you learn two words – and use them! – in a little under twenty minutes. Simply amazing, Dragonborn.”

 

Zack smiled nervously, uncertain if the acolyte was upset with him or not. It was hard to tell if it was simple envy or resentment in his voice.

 

"That's amazing, Zack!" Cloud gushed, "Are they going to teach you more today?"

 

Zack looked expectantly at Arngeir, who shook his head, "No. Though I have no doubt you could learn everything we know in a few weeks, I would not encourage your power to grow so quickly."

 

"Why not?" Zack asked, disappointed.

 

"Power without wisdom to temper it is a dangerous thing," said the acolyte, "Believe me, I know from personal experience."

 

"So, you don't think I'm wise enough?" Zack asked.

 

Cloud laughed, "Zack, you're the most unwise person I've ever met."

 

"Hey!" Zack said with a pout.

 

Arngeir cleared his throat, and Zack turned his attention back to the Greybeard.

 

“You are now ready for your last trial,” he said, “Retrieve the horn of Jurgen Windcaller, our founder, from his tomb in the ancient fane of Ustengrav. Remain true to the way of the voice, and you will be successful.”

 

The way of the voice seemed awfully flexible to Zack, if it included grave robbing. And did Arngeir ever say anything without sounding like he was delivering a grave prophecy?

 

“Alright, I just have one question,” he said.

 

“Then ask it. I will answer if I can.”

 

“What's a fane?”


End file.
